It is perplexing to see NFL players commit the same mistake repeatedly when there are numerous highlights documenting the miscue for the football world to see.
That is why I am baffled by two examples of recent players dropping the ball before crossing the goal line, especially when seeing it cost their teams points and wins by attempting to showboat on a potential touchdown, as Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and Cardinals running back Emari Demercado have already done this season.
As a former NFL player who loved celebrating big plays as a youth, high school and collegiate player, I understand the adrenaline rush of crossing the goal line and the cultural reaction to cool celebratory acts that follow a score.
After watching Billy “White Shoes” Johnson perform the “funky chicken” as his touchdown celebration in the 1970s, I could not wait to score touchdowns as a youth and high school football player so I could show off my own celebratory dance in the end zone. Though flamboyant celebrations were banned at the time, the potential “cool points” gained from a creative celebration prompted my youth and high school teammates to spend countless hours choreographing our touchdown dances.
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Considering how art imitates life, I understand why young players mimic what they see on Sundays. However, some boundaries should be respected, and an individual celebration should never negatively impact the team. Those sentiments are frequently uttered by coaches at every level, particularly in the NFL, where points are coveted at a premium. Despite the NFL’s loosening of the celebration rules, head coaches will discuss the parameters throughout training camp to ensure every player understands what he is allowed to do following a big play or touchdown.
“Every time it happens, you bring it up [to the team],” Titans coach Brian Callahan told reporters, via ESPN.com “We have a saying: ‘Letters and logos.’ You never, never, never, never — under any circumstances — let go of the ball until you see the letters and logos in the end zone. And that’s something that I know every team in the league preaches.
“It’s wild to me that that continues to happen. I know it’s getting coached everywhere in the league. And it pops up three or four times a year, which is crazy to me.”
Given the frequent discussions and highlights devoted to celebrations and egregious errors, I am surprised Mitchell and Demercado produced game-changing touchbacks on botched premature celebrations in back-to-back weeks. While their miscues went viral for the world to see, the allure of the “cool” factor continues to lead young players to stick the ball out while crossing the goal line.
Perhaps the trend will fade after watching those pair of blunders, but DeSean Jackson did not learn his lesson when he fumbled the ball at the end of a somersault heading into the end zone at the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Despite the criticism he received for the botched hot dogging, the big play specialist committed another egregious error as a rookie in 2008 when he prematurely dropped the ball walking into the end zone against the Dallas Cowboys on a potential 61-yard score.
Although the Eagles eventually scored on the drive, the repeated error speaks to the strong allure of showmanship for playmakers who love putting points on the board with flair.
Looking at the current NFL landscape, it is hard to imagine more touchdown miscues on the horizon. The harsh criticism and viral clips have caught the attention of young playmakers around the league. The youngsters do not want to be the subject of hot take debates nor the reason for their team’s demise due to an avoidable error.
While 7-on-7 culture is partially to blame for some of the outlandish celebrations that have leaked in high school, college, and professional football, the recent spate of egregious goal-line errors should curb some of the premature showboating that is costing teams points and games in 2025.
Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He also breaks down the game for NFL Network and as a cohost of the “Moving the Sticks” podcast. Follow him on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.
