SportsFootballAlouettes

"What the hell?": CFL fans stunned by genius second-down punt, recovery

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
|
Oct 1 2023, 5:11 pm
"What the hell?": CFL fans stunned by genius second-down punt, recovery
TSN

If there’s one thing most CFL fans can agree on, it’s that the rulebook can look a little weird at times.

With only three downs, field dimensions noticeably larger than their American counterparts, 12 players per team on the field, and field goal uprights at the front of the end zone rather than the back, the league is full of its quirks and oddities that make some fans diehards and others shy away.

But whether you’re a fan of the league or not, few plays looked stranger to just about everyone than a second-down onside punt conducted by the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday afternoon while taking on the Ottawa Redblacks.

With Montreal backed up to 2nd and 18 on their own 27-yard-line, options were pretty limited for how to gain a first down.

But with Ottawa playing their defensive backs and linebackers pretty deep into coverage, Montreal drew up a play that exploited a weird loophoole in the league’s rulebook.

Completing a pass to Montreal running back Jeshrun Antwi behind the line of scrimmage, the Alouettes opted to go for the onside punt play, by way of a short dribble kick just beyond the line. Antwi himself recovered the ball after just one yard, giving Montreal a new set of downs despite barely moving down the field.

The onside punt is a play that’s deeply entrenched in the CFL rule book, but rarely pulled out on second down, if ever. It was a risky maneuver, for sure — as it easily could’ve ended in a turnover, but it was executed to perfection and earned Montreal the necessary new set of downs they were looking for.

Reaction to the play was rather mixed — some thought it was a genius way to earn a new set of downs, while others thought it was a rule that shouldn’t even exist in this scenario in the first place:

The drive itself ended with a punt from the Alouettes, so their sneaky play only got them so far. But it did earn them a spot in TSN year-end highlight shows for years to come, and that’s got to count for something.

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