The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell on Sunday to the NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons by a 31-26 final. On the last play of the game, Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield attempted a Hail Mary. He airmailed the throw a bit though, and the ball was caught by receiver Rakim Jarrett … but way out of bounds.
As Jarrett came down with the ball out of bounds, he fell backwards into a police officer assigned to the end zone area to watch the crowd. The officer had his back turned and was thus blindsided by Jarrett falling directly into the back of his legs. Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes was shown on the TV broadcast attempting to help the officer to his feet, but the officer appeared to be unable to do so.
Buccaneers hail mary attempt is incomplete and the Falcons win. #ATLvsTB pic.twitter.com/qqSAw5y1UA
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
Here is another angle of the moment of impact.
Florida state trooper completely unaware of the Hail Mary going on behind him
pic.twitter.com/Ero5seWmX0— Chris Rodgers (@rodgeau) October 27, 2024
WFLA in Florida reported on Monday that the officer, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper, suffered a broken ankle on the play.
“The FHP thanks the Falcon[s] player that initially rendered aid to our member following the play,” the department said in a statement to WFLA.
Live NFL action can be especially hazardous for those on the sidelines. Just a couple weeks ago, we saw a ball boy have to be carted off the field after a bad sideline collision with Tennessee quarterback Will Levis (video here).