Last season the Indianapolis Colts traveled to the Buffalo Bills for one of the most memorable games of the year. Simultaneously, the game could be described as forgettable had it not been for several inches of snow engulfing the field.
If you remember, during a timeout, the Colts players on the on the field — as well as non players — were helping to remove snow with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter for kicker Adam Vinatieri’s PAT. The referee did, however, put a stop to the waterboys etc. from assisting, but that’s where the league decided to draw the line.
Man I am crying pic.twitter.com/ciVxTErp7X
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 10, 2017
Now, this won’t be a possibility as the NFL has made a rule change forbidding this in future instances. The Competition Committee passed a rule, changing the 2018 NFL Rulebook making it impermissible for the grounds crew or team personnel to clear away a path for a PAT, field goal attempt, punt or kickoff.
The GIFs that explain Sunday's Colts-Bills Blizzard Bowlhttps://t.co/Bkm4i8Sfaj pic.twitter.com/OylurqQ6BF
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) December 11, 2017
The way the new addition reads, it doesn’t appear that this prohibits the players from doing this. While this new rule won’t come in to play often during a season, it is essential in keeping people who don’t ‘belong’ on the field, off of it. Let’s be honest, Colts fans knew it was going to get nixed when it happened, and this shouldn’t surprise anyone that it led to a rule change.
It sure was funny though. I, for one, hope we never see a Colts game like that again. Then, the team received a bench warning, but from now on it’ll be a flag.