Jets got away with illegal trip on punt return for touchdown

The New York Jets won their game against the Buffalo Bills 22-16 in overtime on Monday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on a walk-off punt return for a touchdown. But the game should not have ended that way if things were called correctly.

ESPN showed a replay of Gipson’s 65-yard punt return for a score. ESPN NFL officiating analyst John Parry pointed out that Jets linebacker Chazz Surratt should have been called for illegal tripping for a leg whip he used on Quintin Morris of the Bills.

Had Morris not been tripped, he conceivably could have brought Xavier Gipson down somewhere around the 20-yard line or so.

"You've gotta put an asterisk on it because there's a tripping call that was not made. A trip, a leg whip, right near the 23-yard line, No. 55, which would have brought the touchdown back."

ESPN's John Parry says that Jets LB Chazz Surratt should have been flagged on the GW-TD pic.twitter.com/QwP10ArAAx

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 12, 2023

The Bills had plenty of chances to tackle Gipson and should not have let him break free. But a call was still missed on that play by Surratt.

Even if the trip were called as a foul, the Jets still would have been in very good position to win with a field goal.

Getting the win despite Aaron Rodgers’ injury was no small thing for the Jets.