With a mobile quarterback like the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Justin Fields, defenses know they have to work even harder to take him down. He’s not going to just fall down like Peyton Manning or even Bo Nix in Week 2 against the Steelers’ fierce defense. Twice this year, on one rush and one sack, it’s looked like Fields has been taken down by the now-illegal hip-drop tackle. The NFL banned the play this offseason after several players suffered serious injuries like Baltimore Ravens TE Mark Andrews in 2023.
What should be made clear up front, and I/we have discussed it several times this offseason, the NFL is policing hip drops with fines more than flags. At least, that’s what they’ve said. In Week 1, no flags were thrown but two players were fined after the fact. A couple more names followed in Week 2.
The league’s rationale is this play is difficult to judge in real time. The NFL has a multi-pronged criteria of what meets the definition of a hip-drop tackle and being able to decipher that live is tough. The league prefers to go to the tape.
Bringing it back to Fields. Was the tackle on him against the Chargers a hip drop?
First, a look at the play. Field sacked off the right side, unable to escape. You might not remember it for good reason. A defensive holding call on CB Asante Samuel Jr. wiped this play out and gave Pittsburgh a first down. But watching it live, it sure felt like a hip drop and you can see the Steelers’ linemen react. I’m showing it from all three angles.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a replay to give us an optimal look at the play, the broadcast focusing on the penalty and new first down. But you watch it and wonder if there should’ve been a penalty or, at the least, a fine coming this week.
That was my first thought. But is it? Here’s what the NFL rulebook says. Its operations page lays out what must happen for it to be considered a hip drop.
“1. Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and
2. Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
Let’s see if this fits. Chargers No. 45 Tuli Tuipulotu rushes off the edge from his LOLB spot. He grabs Fields from behind and wraps his arms around him to make the tackle.
So that box is checked. What about the other? There are a couple components. The defender has to drop/swivel his hips to make the stop. Tuipulotu does in classic hip-drop fashion. Dropping your weight to stop the runner from going forward. The Skycam obstructs some of the view here, but you can see it in the video and the action in this screengrab.
But there is one more element to consider.
“landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
Does that happen here? It doesn’t appear so. While Fields’ leg is bent back, it’s never trapped, Tuipulotu’s weight falls to the side and Fields’ leg doesn’t appear to be caught underneath. Again, it’s a little hard to tell but you can see Tuipulotu slide off to the side here.
Compare that to the tackle that injured Andrews last season and the one on Houston Texans RB Joe Mixon this year after the ban. A play that wasn’t flagged but one for which Chicago Bears LB T.J. Edwards was fined. Watch their legs get fully trapped as the defender lands on it.
We don’t see that here with Fields. So while we have two of the three prongs, a grab/wrap and a hip swivel, I don’t see the final part of Fields’ leg being trapped or the tackler landing on him. To the letter, that isn’t a penalty. And though we’re still figuring out what the league will and won’t fine, I’m now of the opinion that Tuipulotu won’t be fined for it and that it was a legal play. We’ll get our answer on Saturday when Week 3’s fines are announced.
