Why did we get the ball back after the Trey Sermon fumble?

Originally posted by JoseCortez:
The penalty occurred prior to the fumble.

BINGO, because it happened prior to the fumble, it went back to the 49ers, as it should, Sermon was basically a defenseless runner, the hit was helmet to helmet, clear flag.

Originally posted by m_brockalexander:
They should have given out 30 yards and two personal fouls on those hits on Sermon. One forearm shiver to the head followed by spearing soon after. What a way for your first NFL carry to end. Yikes.

Yeah, the one defender looked like he hit Sermon's neck with his forearm. Just glad they actually called helmet to helmet for once, they usually miss these kinds of things.

Originally posted by mattster03:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
the illegal hit was before the fumble

no flag on the Hitner hit

Was there no flag on that play? I can't find an extended clip of it to see if there was a flag or not. I really thought there was... or at least should have been lol.

There was not. Football was different then. Lol.

It's good that they changed the rule to have the offense keep possession. I still remember the Ravens losing in the AFC championship to the Steelers after Willis McGahee fumbled after being knocked unconscious by a similar hit to the head.

Originally posted by Furlow:

Originally posted by mattster03:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
the illegal hit was before the fumble

no flag on the Hitner hit

Was there no flag on that play? I can't find an extended clip of it to see if there was a flag or not. I really thought there was... or at least should have been lol.

There was not. Football was different then. Lol.

It's amazing how much the game has changed

Originally posted by ChuckLeavy32:

Originally posted by Furlow:

Originally posted by mattster03:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
the illegal hit was before the fumble

no flag on the Hitner hit

Was there no flag on that play? I can't find an extended clip of it to see if there was a flag or not. I really thought there was... or at least should have been lol.

There was not. Football was different then. Lol.

It's amazing how much the game has changed

I guess this was my whole confusion. I thought there was a flag on that play and it seemed like a different outcome to a similar hit and fumble this time around. I agree it was 1000% a penalty on Sermon, I just thought we would lose the ball on it as my mind flashed to what happened in 2012 vs. the Saints. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to get the ball back AND 15 yards from where the penalty occurred.

Originally posted by mattster03:
How is it any different than Hitner on Pierre Thomas? That's what I'm wondering. Here's the play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4iUUPNPPHg

His hit would have been a penalty in today's rules

Originally posted by Furlow:

Originally posted by mattster03:

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:
the illegal hit was before the fumble

no flag on the Hitner hit

Was there no flag on that play? I can't find an extended clip of it to see if there was a flag or not. I really thought there was... or at least should have been lol.

There was not. Football was different then. Lol.

Lol yeah. This was the famous Gregg Williams "Cut the head off of the snake" bounty game.

Originally posted by judodono:
Wiggles have the nerve to complain about this dirty hit.
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-kvon-wallace-rips-referees-call-trey-sermon-hit
Careful K'Von... Karma is one hell of a b***h.

Damn that slow mo is brutal. I'm glad this guy is young and probably trains his neck because the fumble is caused by Sermons face(or face mask) popping down his hands to the ball due to the force of the helmet to helmet hit. You can see it translate like dominoes though the hit.

I hope he gets a CT scan to also check his discs on his upper spine. He's young so they're still spongy. But damn.


Zoners Unite ! It's time to set this kids Twitter straight because he "thinks Sermon led with his head", not acknowledging the first guy elbowed it down from the back of the helmet.

Originally posted by mitpdub:

Originally posted by judodono:
Wiggles have the nerve to complain about this dirty hit.
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-kvon-wallace-rips-referees-call-trey-sermon-hit
Careful K'Von... Karma is one hell of a b***h.

Damn that slow mo is brutal. I'm glad this guy is young and probably trains his neck because the fumble is caused by Sermons face(or face mask) popping down his hands to the ball due to the force of the helmet to helmet hit. You can see it translate like dominoes though the hit.

I hope he gets a CT scan to also check his discs on his upper spine. He's young so they're still spongy. But damn.

Was definitely not leading with his head… pic.twitter.com/xLGhkdUPRU

— Nicholas Le (@nicholasle25) September 20, 2021

Zoners Unite ! It's time to set this kids Twitter straight because he "thinks Sermon led with his head", not acknowledging the first guy elbowed it down from the back of the helmet.

42 did nothing wrong. He was going low, shoulder first(as much as he can). Sermons head went limp with a millisecond, after 42 was already committed.
I get these things look bad in slow mo, but in real time these defenders are at the mercy of how the ball carrier reacts just prior to contact.
Ask all the guys who actually play and coach defense in the NFL.
And I'm not saying it's wrong, it's made the game safer and protects from neck breaking hits, but they really are asking defenders to give up a lot.

Originally posted by Youngone:

Originally posted by mattster03:

Originally posted by MunsterShane:
He probably wouldn't have fumbled without getting cleaned out so penalty caused the fumble

Again... Whitner on Pierre Thomas, Niners kept the ball. Just posted the link above

Heard the announcers say this rule was changed recently to allow person who got illegally hit to keep the ball.

Correct. They said the rule changed 2 years ago. The penalty occured before the fumble, as some said it probably caused the fumble, so 49ers retained the ball.