In the fourth quarter of a Sunday Night Football showdown with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy caught a pass at the line of scrimmage and then pump-faked like he was going to attempt a pass despite having crossed the line of scrimmage.
Even though he appeared to be across the line, Jeudy’s pump drew a reaction from a defender, helping the receiver gain eight yards on the play.
“I just pump faked — I don’t know what happened, I just did it,” Jeudy said after the game, via DenverSports.com’s Rachel Vigil. “I got him. I don’t know why he fell for it, I was three yards past the line of scrimmage.”
Upon further review, Jerry’s pump fake might not have been so far-fetched. Jeudy’s right foot appears to still be behind the line of scrimmage when he pulls the ball back to throw.
The NFL’s rulebook states that “it is a forward pass from beyond the line of scrimmage if the passer’s entire body and the ball are beyond the line of scrimmage when the ball is released, whether the passer is airborne or touching the ground” (emphasis added).
So it’s possible that Jeudy might have been able to pull off a legal forward pass while still behind the line, but not if quarterback Russell Wilson’s initial pass was deemed a forward pass. We we’ll never know if it might have worked because the receiver brought the ball down and ran. It was one of the highlights of SNF, and Twitter/X loved it.