Dexter Lawrence committed a costly penalty in the New York Giants’ loss to the Washington Football Team on Thursday night, but there has been some debate over whether he was actually offsides. Many people believe Lawrence simply got a good jump, and the defensive lineman hinted on Friday that he agrees.
The Giants were leading 29-27 with five seconds left when Washington lined up for a 48-yard field goal attempt. Kicker Dustin Hopkins missed wide right, but he was bailed out when Lawrence jumped offsides. Or did he? A slow motion clip that went viral on Friday claimed to show that Lawrence simply got a perfect jump.
Yeah…. Dexter Lawrence wasn’t offside he just got a perfect jump on the snap
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) September 17, 2021
Of course, there are other versions of the same clip that appear to show Lawrence putting his helmet across the line of scrimmage before the longsnapper started moving the ball.
I love you Alex but you’re wrong on this one pic.twitter.com/aNB6s3u9M0
— Andrew Allen | BronxBomberss (@hollywoodallen_) September 17, 2021
Lawrence seems to think he got a good jump. He told reporters on Friday that it is his job to “move when the ball moves.” He likely watched the video in super slow motion several times himself.
#Giants’ Dexter Lawrence on offsides penalty:
“I'm supposed to move when the ball moves. Obviously, I gave it to the ref to make a decision to think that I moved before the ball moved. My job is to get off and attack whoever is in front of me.” #NYG
: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/JWskzqW0xa
— Jennifer X. Williams (@JenXperience) September 17, 2021
Whether he was offsides or not, Lawerence didn’t deserve some of the social media backlash he got after the game. The play was the definition of bang-bang, and obviously the officials felt he was in the neutral zone or beyond as the ball was snapped. It’s hard to tell for certain if that was the case.
