The box score will show the Pittsburgh Steelers having just one blocked kick in their Sunday night win over the New York Jets, and that accomplishment shouldn’t be understated. No one has more than the Steelers’ nine blocked punts and kicks since 2022. It’s just that they should have at least 10. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s extra point block was wiped out by a questionable “leverage” penalty against him, the refs believing Fitzpatrick used the Jets’ protect team to jump over and make his way into the kicking backfield.
Weighing in on the validity of the call and why there was a flag in the first place, former NFL ref and current rules analyst Gene Steratore understands that’s a snap judgment for any official to make.
“The NFL really tries to train the officials on that play because there are a lot of little nuances,” Steratore said Tuesday on 102.5 DVE’s Randy Baumann morning show. “And quite honestly, the players are so good. They do find ways to gain an unfair advantage with a little leverage. But if it’s a bent arm or if it’s an elevation, that’s what you’re looking for, right?”
Here’s a look at the play. Fitzpatrick does appear to make contact with the Jets lineman attempting to block. But the rule says the player can’t use the blocker as a springboard to leap from.
On slow motion, it’s clear that Fitzpatrick is not pushing off or gaining any height on the backs of either Jets player in the area. But watching it live with Fitzpatrick’s arm movement, hands down as he follows through the leap, it can give the appearance of a push. Drawing that line is what Steratore says is the hard part for officials to judge.
“It is pretty intricate there. It’s a very, very small window of when is it legal or when does this become a foul?”
Not only was Fitzpatrick’s block taken off the board, the penalty gave the Jets confidence to go for two. They converted, putting New York up 15-6 in the first half.
NBC rules expert Terry McAulay admitted it was the wrong call and Steratore agreed. But the NFL’s crackdown has made refs flag anything that looks close. It’s not the first time Fitzpatrick’s had a field goal block taken away, CB Joe Haden called for a ticky-tack offsides in a 2021 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Aaron Rodgers effect, perhaps. Had these two plays not been reversed, Fitzpatrick would have three blocked kicks over the past four seasons, his game-saving extra point swat in 2022 the only one that’s stood.
The fact Fitzpatrick that pulled the play off is remarkable and it’s extra unfortunate for the moment to be taken away. Most teams that try to leap over do so through the A-gap, up the middle, over a long snapper who naturally has a flat back to jump. And the quickest point to the ball is a straight line. But the Steelers used a different tactic to bring Fitzpatrick off the edge as T.J. Watt helped hold the Jets player down.
In a true “ball don’t lie” moment, the Steelers blocked a field goal in the second half when DL Dean Lowry got his hand on one. It’s the third-straight week Pittsburgh has blocked a kick or punt. For 31 teams, blocking anything once is a year is a goal. For the Steelers, multiple blocks in a season is the expectation. Officially, Pittsburgh has three this season. It should have four.
