The unusual play spawned multiple questions: Why did Larvavain touch the ball so close to his own end zone? And why wasn’t it a touchback when Jones crossed the goal line with the ball?
The answer to the first question is when a member of the punting team is first to touch the ball, the receiving team can attempt to return it with no consequences. So even if a Browns player had picked it up and then fumbled it, Cleveland would have retained possession at the spot where Blackwell first touched it.
It wasn’t ruled a touchback because as soon as Larvavain contacted the ball, the same “no consequence” rule applied to Jones, who smartly grabbed it to prevent a Browns player from returning it.
Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower described the effort as an “unbelievable play by Blackwell; one of the best that I’ve seen in a long, long time,” adding that the increased level of difficulty due to battling the sun “makes it even more incredible.”
“I looked up to find the ball, but I knew I was getting close to the end zone,” Blackwell said. “I was [thinking], ‘I’m going to have to dive for this one.’ It hit the side of my stomach. I was going to touch it again, but out of my peripheral, I could see that my body was on the line, so that’s why I pulled back the way I did.”
The Browns challenged the ruling, believing that Blackwell had touched the ball with his finger while in the end zone. But the call was upheld after a replay review.
“I came to the sideline and said, ‘I didn’t touch the ball,'” Blackwell said. “Watching the replay, it was closer than I really thought it was.”
After the play, the Browns went three-and-out, punting from their own 7. The Bears started their subsequent possession at the Cleveland 42 and took advantage of the excellent field position to grab a 7-0 lead on Swift’s 6-yard TD run.
“It was a huge play,” Jones said. “Me, Tory and Josh, we’ve been wanting that for so long. We hadn’t had one in a while like that and that play was so special because it was in the sun. [Blackwell] really couldn’t see the ball and just the effort he gave … some people get back there and catch it, but to be that acrobatic and make such a special play, we needed that, and it was long overdue.”
For the second straight day Wednesday, receivers Rome Odunze (ankle) and Luther Burden III (ankle) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (hamstring) did not practice; and Swift (groin), tight end Cole Kmet (ankle/knee) and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin) were limited.
Also for the second straight day, four Packers starters did not practice due to injuries: running back Josh Jacobs (knee/ankle), right tackle Zach Tom (back/knee), defensive end Micah Parsons (knee) and safety Evan Williams (knee). Parsons is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL he sustained last Sunday against the Broncos, but he has not yet been placed on injured reserve.
Receiver Christian Watson (chest/shoulder) and defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot) both practiced on a limited basis Wednesday after sitting out Tuesday.
