So, apparently, you can push the ball carrier forward, but you cannot pull them. In my decade of doing this, I was unaware this was even a rule until Sunday night when the 49ers solidified their 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. If you push (READ: The Tush-Push), it’s fine—at least through 2025.
49ers' Christian McCaffrey Scores Amid Missed Call on Archaic NFL Rule
Posted October 21, 2025
A missed call on Christian McCaffrey’s touchdown adds to another week of brutal NFL officiating.
If you pull, it’s a 10-yard penalty. Better known as Rule 12, Section 1, Article 4 in the NFL rulebook:
On first and goal, on the 4-yard line, rather than bleed more clock before giving the Falcons the ball, the 49ers scored instead. This was thanks to a Christian McCaffrey run, assisted by Matt Hennessy and Connor Colby.
Just one problem: Colby was pulling McCaffrey through the goal line. And as the rule states, you can’t do that.
Of course, this was the missed call the broadcast crew wanted to focus on and point out how the refs got it wrong. There wasn’t a peep about Demarcus Robinson not getting a PI flag (maybe he was being fairly penalized for not catching it?) on the exact circumstances. Or defensive holding done to Colton McKivitz to blow up a play, or illegal hands to the face by the Falcons’ defense, or the jump the 49ers defense had on the first play of the game.
Bottom line: the officiating was terrible for both sides, yet again. Both teams got slapped with bad calls and no-calls; one found a way to win despite the incompetence. We’ve said on this site numerous times that officiating and the game result are not mutually exclusive. Had the 49ers not scored on that possession and the Falcons found a way to pull out the win, I’d be saying the same thing about how bad Ron Tolbert’s crew was in this game; The 49ers would have lost because Demarcus Robinson can’t catch, regardless of whether he was interfered with; the 49ers would have lost because Jauan Jennings bobbled a ball into a defender’s hands; etc., etc.
And regardless of me being a homer in this, finger of shame to NFL Officiating. You have New York. You have national TV that could ping you the play if you needed it. You review scoring plays, and you didn’t think to even flag them for this? You had no problem doing it to the Detroit Lions last week. This is the 49ers, not the Kansas City Chiefs. That touchdown was awesome, but as a fan, knowing it was an awful missed call does lessen the experience—a little.
But back to Colby and this missed flag. For once, an excellent play by the 49ers got to stay on the books regardless of legitimacy. I’d hate to think what the response would be if it were enforced. It will be curious to see what the response is from the pool reporter, as it’s a good guess someone in the media will chat with Tolbert on what happened and how the botch happened.
49ers fan or not, the missed calls all game are what make the NFL product a joke more often than not. The Falcons had plenty of botched calls/no calls go their way as well. Much like the 49ers, they had plenty of chances to win. The officiating performance is NOT the reason the Falcons lost this game. But they are right to be angry that this officiating is what the NFL rolls out for their team.
The 49ers, with an extensive injury list, managed to pull out the win despite what happened to them.
Saints look smarter by the week after parting ways with Marshon Lattimore
It's been painful watching Lattimore struggle with his new team.
The New Orleans Saints made the difficult decision to trade cornerback Marshon Lattimore ahead of last year's trade deadline. They sent Lattimore to the Washington Commanders in exchange for three draft picks and knew that, in doing so, they might end up regretting it.
While we won't know how the Saints' three draft picks (which turned into Jonas Sanker, Quincy Riley, and Devin Neal) will fare until a few more years, it's safe to say that the Commanders are already having buyer's remorse on this deal. Lattimore has been downright dreadful since arriving in DC and he's been put on blast by the fans, especially after his latest outing against the Cowboys where he was picked apart by Dak Prescott.
Lattimore was once a near-lockdown corner during his days with the Saints but he's been anything but since joining the Commanders. When he's been healthy enough to play, he's become the player that opposing quarterbacks pick on and that was on full display in the Cowboys' blowout win over Washington on Sunday. Time and time again, Prescott sent the ball Lattimore's way and the former Saint couldn't do anything to stop the bleeding.
Saints’ gamble on Marshon Lattimore departure looks genius in hindsight
The Saints knew they weren't contending for anything meaningful last season. That paired with Lattimore's injury history meant that trading him made a lot of sense, even if fans might have found themselves having a hard time with it. Lattimore was once one of the best players on the Saints' entire roster, but it became clear that the guy couldn't stay healthy and last year was the time to try and get something in return for him.
The Commanders were desperate to improve their roster as they shocked the world by becoming a playoff contender. They continued to dominate after trading for Lattimore but he didn't play much of a part in all of that. He appeared in just two regular season games after arriving in DC and while he looked like his old self over the summer, clearly that didn't carry over into the regular season.
PFF has not been kind to Lattimore with their grades (nor should they be), grading him out at 48.0 overall and 45.9 in coverage. Yikes and yikes. The Saints have tended to stick with oft-injured players until it's too late and the wheels have fallen off but they were smart to send Lattimore elsewhere before the same thing happened to him in New Orleans.
Now the Commanders are left wishing they had kept those three picks and improved their roster in other ways while Saints fans are breathing a huge sigh of relief. A rare win for the black and gold.
