Perhaps fodder for a football follies DVD soon to come, here is an in-depth breakdown of the nuttiest plays of Week 8.
#Tebowing Tebow
Game:Lions 45, Broncos 10
Things got a bit nutty when ...Broncos QB Tim Tebow is sacked by Stephen Tulloch, who follows up the sack by "Tebowing", an instant sensation that picked up some serious steam heading into Sunday's NFL games.
Co-lateral damage
The situation: The Texans lead 7-0 and face a second-and-7 from their own 45-yard line with 6:41 left in the second quarter.
Things got a bit nutty when ...Texans QB Matt Schaub is sacked by Clint Session and fumbles the ball. The loose ball is recovered by Matt Roth, who runs for five yards and then flips the ball over his back to Terrance Knighton. Knighton runs for seven yards before lateraling the ball back to the man who initiated the play, Session, who goes 10 more yards for a Jaguars first down. Jacksonville is able to capitalize on this fortunate set of events, scoring a touchdown two plays later.
Tuck rule strikes again
Things got a bit nutty when ...Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton drops back to pass. Dalton appears to pump the ball, but the football slipped from his hands and a pass went backward. The wild scramble for the ball that ensued did not matter, as a once obscure but now quite familiar rule reared its head. This ruling doesn't exactly have the same consequences of a much more famous tuck rule call nearly 10 years ago.
The Polamalu punch
The situation: Trailing 23-17, the Patriots are vying to quickly go down the field for what they hope will be the game-winning score. Facing a first-and-10 from their own 22-yard line with just 19 seconds remaining, Patriots QB Tom Brady lines up in the shotgun formation looking to acquire a big chunk of yardage.
Things got a bit nutty when ... Brady is chased down by the Steelers' bearded wonder, Brett Keisel, who slaps the ball from Brady's hands for a fumble. As players dive to recover the loose ball, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu appears to punch the ball more than 20 yards out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
Tackle eligible
Game:49ers 20, Browns 10
Things got a bit nutty when ... Offensive tackle Joe Staley reported as an eligible receiver. It was the second time in the game that the 49ers operated with tackles eligible on the play (early in the first quarter, on the team's first touchdown play, Alex Boone and Isaac Sopoaga reported as eligible receivers). This time, however, the 49ers actually threw the ball to the lineman, and Staley rumbled for a 17-yard gain. Later in the game, Sopoaga caught a pass for an 18-yard gain on the drive that set up the 49ers' game-clinching score. All these tackle-eligible plays come from a 49ers team with four former first-rounders in its receiving arsenal: Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Braylon Edwards and Ted Ginn Jr..
