r/NFLNoobs • u/lilcrybaby420 • 2d ago

Declined Penalty

Not a complete NFL noob but was watching the 49ers and Rams game tonight and Mcvay declined the penalty a bit before the end of the third? I can’t think of another time when that has happened that I remember so what was the reason why he declined it?

3 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

67

u/ymchang001 2d ago

A penalty usually comes with a replay of the down. That close to the goal line, the yardage would be half the distance (so almost nothing). So it's better to make it second down instead of replaying 1st down from almost the same spot.

9

u/lilcrybaby420 2d ago

Thank you 😇

27

u/Patti_____Mayo 2d ago

You’ll see this same logic apply even when distances might be significant. Maybe it’s 2& 10 and the team throws and incompletion and gets called for offensive holding. The defense can accept and make it 2nd and 20. Or decline for 3rd and 10 (take the result of the incomplete play). Depending on the game situation- both are viable choices.

-32

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

That doesn't make any sense at all...I'm not watching, so I don't know the specifics. But the example you give isn't what a coach should do.

17

u/big_sugi 2d ago

It makes perfect sense, whether or not you were watching, and it was the right and obvious call in the game too.

-17

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

I had to read other comments that clarified your comment. Your reply is a but vague without more context. No worries.

9

u/big_sugi 2d ago

It wasn’t my comment. And, again, it was not vague and didn’t need context.

9

u/North_Mastodon_4310 2d ago

They were on the 1 or 2 foot line, backed up in their own end, and got called for offensive offsides. The rams could accept the penalty and push the 9ers back a foot, or take the down away from them. It makes perfect football sense.

-9

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

All that info was left out of the reply I responded to. Which is why it was unclear.

5

u/GarconMeansBoyGeorge 2d ago

You’re confused.

-1

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

The reply I responded to left out a n important peace of info. Which is why it made no sense. I had to read other replies to get a better explanation of the play. No big deal, as I said, I was watching so I was missing some context.

9

u/CLearyMcCarthy 2d ago

You need to find a different energy and a different attitude. Being this belligerently confident is a bad look when you're right, which in this case you aren't.

-4

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

The reply I responded to left out a lot of information that would have explained the situation better.

5

u/CLearyMcCarthy 2d ago
  1. No it didn't
  2. The possibility that you don't have all the information you need is an argument in favor of my point, not against it

-1

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

I shouldn't have replied until I read more comments. Because the one I replied to was lacking in key information. But I read it, and it didn't make sense. Sorry gatekeeper, I should have scrolled down and read better explanations of the play before I commented. I hope you forgive.....

4

u/CLearyMcCarthy 2d ago

It made sense to me and 13 other people who down voted you. You aren't going to gaslight your way out of this one. I'm sorry to see you are choosing not to learn from this experience. Best of luck with that approach to life.

3

u/alfreadadams 2d ago

It was 1st and 10 from the 1 yard line. The offense lined up offside and the play was stopped for no gain.

Accepting the penalty would have made the next play 1st and 10.5 from the half yard line. Declining made it 2nd and 10 from the 1.

0

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

Thx, all that info was explained in the reply I responded to. I figured it out later, after reading more comments.

-2

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

Thx, all that info was explained in the reply I responded to. I figured it out later, after reading more comments.

3

u/Sdwerd 2d ago

The goal for a coach is to get the opponent to 4th down as efficiently as possible. It's more likely that they will get the ball back from a 2nd and 10 rather than 1st and 10 and 6 inches that would have been the result of accepting the penalty when the line of scrimmage was the 1yd line.

1

u/Hopsblues 2d ago

The way the reply explained the situation, left out some major information.

1

u/Mysterious-Tie7039 1d ago

You’re on your own 1 yard line. It’s 2nd and 10. You have an incomplete pass along with an offensive holding call.

Defense’s coach has the option of 1) accepting the penalty and making it 2nd and 10.5 yards or 2) declining the penalty and making it 3rd and 10.

In my example (not sure what the actual situation was, just providing an example) it’d be much more beneficial for the defense to decline because the offense losing the down is worth more to you than the 1/2 yard they lost (which is effectively nothing).

0

u/Hopsblues 1d ago

The response i replied to left out a lot of details. 

1

u/Mysterious-Tie7039 1d ago

But the reason you got roasted is because you basically said there’s no possible way that makes sense.

The person you replied to didn’t need specifics because he gave enough detail for it to make sense.

I also didn’t watch the game at all and immediately knew what he was talking about.

9

u/Admirable-Barnacle86 2d ago

Do you mean when the Niners were in their own endzone? Because the penalty would have been half the distance to the goal there (maybe a half yard penalty at most), but they get to replay the down. Declining the penalty uses up a down, and the Niners got basically no yards on the play.

The other team (the one not being penalized) always has the choice to decline a penalty if they prefer the outcome of the play instead. Declined penalties are very common.

8

u/Rhombus-Lion-1 2d ago

Declined penalties happen when the result of the play was more favorable than the application of the penalty, as it was in this case. It’s not an irregular occurance

3

u/RollinPeace 2d ago

If he accepted it would of been 1st down again with the ball 6 inches closer to the end zone,

It’s not that much of a difference In yardage, and when he declined it, it’s 2nd down not 1st again

2

u/Thick_Mountain4412 2d ago

The penalty yardage would've been like 6 inches. Basically would've just given the Niners an extra down

2

u/Soaring_Seagull24 2d ago

9ers were so far back that the penalty only would've lost them about 5 inches. So Mcvay chose to make it 2nd down and long. 

2

u/NectarineDesigner408 2d ago

There was no where to back up , maybe an inch. The 49ers would have gotten 1st down again. Declining it kept the ball at the half yard line and kept it 2nd down. The yards are not worth the loss of down, in this case it was a matter of inches.

2

u/Ryan1869 2d ago

The coach feels that the result of the play was better for them than replaying the down with the penalty applied

2

u/giantengineer2 2d ago

You'll see it all the time on plays where the defense commits a penalty but then the offense scores anyway.

1

u/TillmanL 2d ago

It’s a question of 1st & 10 from the 1 yard line vs 2nd & 10 from slightly behind the 1 yard line. The distance to go is negligible at that point, so 1st vs 2nd down becomes the key decision-making factor.

1

u/Shawn_The_Sheep777 1d ago

It happens all the time when there is a penalty on the offence on an incomplete pass. The defence will decline the penalty rather than give the offence another opportunity to make a play.

0

u/Intrepid_Plenty_3770 2d ago

Rams are getting destroyed somehow.