Jacoby Jones appeared to have a clear path down the sideline for a kickoff return touchdown after the Steelers had trimmed the Ravens’ lead to 13-7 in the third quarter Thursday night, but Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin wandered onto the field during the return and nearly collided with the Baltimore receiver.
The presence of Tomlin on the field of play clearly affected Jones, who was tackled by Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen after returning the kick 73 yards.
No one will ever know if Jones would have reached the end zone if he wasn’t forced to evade Tomlin on the sideline, but if the referees decided to call a penalty on the Steelers coach, it would have only advanced the ball 15 yards.
[tweet https://twitter.com/MikePereira/statuses/406265743697653760 align=”center”]
Jones’ reaction suggested he wanted a penalty on Tomlin, but no flag was thrown on the play. Baltimore kicked a field goal on the ensuing drive to a take a 16-7 lead, and the Ravens squeaked out the win.
Check out the near-miss in GIF form below, courtesy of @CJZero.
