Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie receiver DeSean Jackson turned in by far the dumbest play of the new NFL season on Monday Night Football.
With his team trailing division rival Dallas 21-20 midway through the second quarter, the immensely talented Jackson broke free in the Cowboys’ secondary and caught a beautiful 60-yard pass from QB Donovan McNabb. As Jackson sprinted towards the end zone, he obviously was preoccupied with what dance celebration he was going to unveil for his first career touchdown, because he purposely dropped the ball behind him…before he crossed the goal line.
The play stood as a touchdown until Dallas head coach Wade Phillips challenged it. Officials ruled that Jackson had in fact dropped the ball before he reached the end zone and gave Philly the ball back at the 1-yard line. Granted, Brian Westbrook scored on the very next play so it didn’t wind up hurting the Eagles, but still, it was a boneheaded move by Jackson. Worse yet, television cameras kept showing the rookie wide out acting like he hadn’t almost cost his team six points.
As Harry Doyle would say from the Major League movies, “that play could be a finalist on the Trojan ENZ Boner of the Week Award.”
Update: Despite his dumb play, Jackson had an incredible night, finishing with six receptions for 110 yards in the Eagles’ 41-37 loss. The rookie should have had a touchdown, too…
