The Denver Broncos defeated the New Orleans Saints, coached by Sean Payton at the time, 25-23 during the 2016 season.
With less than two minutes remaining and the game tied 23-23, the Saints lined up for what would have been a go-ahead extra point. Broncos safety Justin Simmons jumped over the line at the snap and blocked the kick.
Fellow safety Will Parks returned it for a two-point score to give Denver a 25-23 lead. There was some controversy about whether or not Parks stepped out of bounds on his return.
Payton clearly hasn’t forgotten about that play. When asked about safety Justin Simmons after a training camp practice last week, Payton referenced his blocked kick from seven years ago.
“He’s the player we knew he was back when we had to play against him,” Payton said on Aug. 2. “He’s certainly smart, he’s got really good length and good ball skills. He can block PATs.”
Parks wore white cleats for that game, which made it difficult to tell if he stayed in bounds while running down the sideline.
“The one thing we learned from that is, if you’re not wearing white shoes, then tape your shoes white,” Payton said. “That’s what we learned from that.”
Payton still maintains that Parks stepped out of bounds. The coach doesn’t have to worry about such a scenario happening again, though, because the NFL has since made it illegal to jump over the line like Simmons did.
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