NFL Decides Humping is Better Than Hitting On Missed 'Running Into the Kicker' Call

In the middle of a 27-10 New Jersey beatdown at the hands of the Giants yesterday, Eagles punter Braden Mann decided to lay down even harder than the rest of his team. Except, propped up by the arms of Giants linebacker and special teamer Cameron Brown, he had no choice but to stay standing.

In football, you are not allowed to run into a kicker after he has kicked the ball. An inadvertent brush is ok, but anything more and a referee can call a "running into the kicker" penalty, or a much more costly "roughing the kicker" penalty. As a result, kickers often try and sell any contact with a good old-fashioned flop, but Cam Brown just wasn't having it. While "running into the kicker" could conceivably have been called, this was no "roughing," and Brown made sure that Mann, and the refs, understood he did his part in keeping everybody on their feet.

After going just 1-5 in their last six games, the Eagles have a lot more to worry about than punting if they want to avoid being a one-and-done team in the playoffs. At least they know they can resort to humping if they have to get out of any roughing calls.