I see this happen a lot around the league, but I don’t know that it’s ever been called out. It’s the urge to “reward” a player who helps get the team down the field by targeting them in the end zone.
If you’ve ever played Madden, chances are you’ve done this. Luckily a computerized defense won’t pick up on it, but real life NFL defenses aren’t stupid.
In Thursday’s game, the Chargers were tied with KC on the road and had just gotten in the red zone on the back of some big catches and YAC from Gerald Everett. So what did Herbert do on the first play on first down inside the 10?
Force it to Everett.
And lo and behold, a 7th round rookie DB saw it coming, jumped the route, and took it all the way to give KC the lead. And they never gave it back.
I blame Varsity Blues. That whole thing where Wendell would carry it all the way down the field, then the racist coach would give a white guy the touchdown chances. I feel like we all missed the point of that plot line if all we got from it is that the guy who carries it down the field deserves the TD.
I watched Rodgers do this with Davante Adams for years. We all saw Mahomes do it with Tyreek in the AFC Championship game last year. I’m telling you, keep an eye out for it and you’ll see it happen all the time.
