Peyton Manning back to pass.
Falls down.
Gets up.Finds Emmanuel Sanders for 34 yards. #PITvsDEN https://t.co/ifvw3YgAEI
— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2016
If you watched the AFC Divisional game between the Steelers and Broncos, you may have noticed something strange about the Broncos’ longest play from scrimmage. Peyton Manning slid to avoid contact and then got back up to complete a pass to Emmanuel Sanders that netted 34 yards.
Though the play should’ve been dead when Manning slid, the refs allowed it to continue. The Steelers were tricked, and the call stood because the play wasn’t reviewable. Manning admitted to what he was doing after the game. As Deadspin explains, it sounds pretty questionable.
“I was stepping up. When you fake that way and kind of get your head around, I felt that guy closing, so I stepped up and kind of leaned forward. My momentum kind of just took me down, I guess. I didn’t think that he had touched me. I told Emmanuel just to kind of be alert in case I fall down, get back up, to be uncovered.”
Well, doesn’t sound like the most legit way to get things done on the gridiron, but it worked.