Robert Hunt almost had one of the great big-man touchdowns in history
Thursday, only to have it wiped away by the cruel letter of the NFL
rulebook. Somehow, the indelible image from the Miami Dolphins� 22-10 win
against the Baltimore Ravens was Hunt � a 6-foot-6, 327-pound offensive
lineman � contorting his body and reaching the ball across the goal line
for a touchdown that was never going to count. �I was trying to win,� Hunt
said, laughing through an absurd postgame press conference.

Because, again, he�s an offensive lineman and those guys aren�t allowed to
catch passes unless they�re declared eligible. (He wasn�t.) So what
exactly happened on the strangest play of a deeply strange Thursday Night
game? With 13:11 left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins tried to run a
screen to running back Myles Gaskin on third-and-goal at the Ravens� 6-
yard line and, for some reason, Hunt set up like the pass was intended for
him, turning his body back toward Tua Tagovailoa to square up for a catch
he was not legally allowed to make. With pressure in his face, Tagovailoa
lofted a pass toward Gaskin and his mob of lead blockers, and Hunt, who
was playing right guard, pulled the pass out of the air and rumbled to the
end zone. He cut past one defender and got hit low as he came to the goal
line, flipping through the air and stretching the ball just far enough to
break the plane. �I just kind of saw it and it was third down,� Hunt said.
�I just saw the ball and I don�t know, I just blanked out, man. I just
caught the ball and tried to run with it.� It was all for naught. After a
long discussion, the officials called the play back for illegal touching.
Hunt had not declared eligible and therefore he could not be the first
player to touch a pass thrown by the quarterback. Miami went backward 5
yards and Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass on his second third-and-goal
attempt. The Dolphins settled for a field goal to stretch their lead to
six.

In the moment, he said he forgot he wasn�t allowed to touch the ball.
�It�s embarrassing,� Hunt said. �It�s all over the internet, too.� In a
game � and season � full of strange moments for Miami, Hunt�s non-
touchdown was a new peak (or valley?). Remember, the Dolphins in September
threw an unblocked screen pass in their own end zone for a safety against
the Las Vegas Raiders, and blew a chance to take a halftime lead on the
Buffalo Bills on Halloween when a snap hit Mike Gesicki and bounced to the
defense while the tight end was going in motion. Even earlier Thursday,
Miami ran a flea flicker where Tagovailoa threw a dump-off right back to
Gaskin after he pitched the ball back to his quarterback. The Hunt play,
though, was one to remember. Even usually humorless coach Brian Flores
couldn�t help but chuckle about it. �Great effort. Incredible effort. It�s
a penalty, though,� he said. �Maybe we�ll put a play in for him.�

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https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-
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On Monday, November 15, 2021 at 6:48:28 PM UTC-5, And the crowd roared! wrote:
> Robert Hunt almost had one of the great big-man touchdowns in history
> Thursday, only to have it wiped away by the cruel letter of the NFL
> rulebook. Somehow, the indelible image from the Miami Dolphins’ 22-10 win
> against the Baltimore Ravens was Hunt — a 6-foot-6, 327-pound offensive
> lineman — contorting his body and reaching the ball across the goal line
> for a touchdown that was never going to count. “I was trying to win,” Hunt
> said, laughing through an absurd postgame press conference.
>
> Because, again, he’s an offensive lineman and those guys aren’t allowed to
> catch passes unless they’re declared eligible. (He wasn’t..) So what
> exactly happened on the strangest play of a deeply strange Thursday Night
> game? With 13:11 left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins tried to run a
> screen to running back Myles Gaskin on third-and-goal at the Ravens’ 6-
> yard line and, for some reason, Hunt set up like the pass was intended for
> him, turning his body back toward Tua Tagovailoa to square up for a catch
> he was not legally allowed to make. With pressure in his face, Tagovailoa
> lofted a pass toward Gaskin and his mob of lead blockers, and Hunt, who
> was playing right guard, pulled the pass out of the air and rumbled to the
> end zone. He cut past one defender and got hit low as he came to the goal
> line, flipping through the air and stretching the ball just far enough to
> break the plane. “I just kind of saw it and it was third down,” Hunt said.
> “I just saw the ball and I don’t know, I just blanked out, man. I just
> caught the ball and tried to run with it.” It was all for naught. After a
> long discussion, the officials called the play back for illegal touching.
> Hunt had not declared eligible and therefore he could not be the first
> player to touch a pass thrown by the quarterback. Miami went backward 5
> yards and Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass on his second third-and-goal
> attempt. The Dolphins settled for a field goal to stretch their lead to
> six.
>
> In the moment, he said he forgot he wasn’t allowed to touch the ball.
> “It’s embarrassing,” Hunt said. “It’s all over the internet, too.” In a
> game — and season — full of strange moments for Miami, Hunt’s non-
> touchdown was a new peak (or valley?). Remember, the Dolphins in September
> threw an unblocked screen pass in their own end zone for a safety against
> the Las Vegas Raiders, and blew a chance to take a halftime lead on the
> Buffalo Bills on Halloween when a snap hit Mike Gesicki and bounced to the
> defense while the tight end was going in motion. Even earlier Thursday,
> Miami ran a flea flicker where Tagovailoa threw a dump-off right back to
> Gaskin after he pitched the ball back to his quarterback. The Hunt play,
> though, was one to remember. Even usually humorless coach Brian Flores
> couldn’t help but chuckle about it. “Great effort. Incredible effort. It’s
> a penalty, though,” he said. “Maybe we’ll put a play in for him.”
>
> <https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-
> news/elsxvb/picture255755796/alternates/FREE_768/MIA_20211110AD1992DOLPHIN
> SvsBaltimoreRAVENS.JPG>
>
> https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-
> dolphins/article255755291.html
In a mostly forgettable season, that will go down as a memorable moment, particularly if Hunt develops into a really good lineman.

Dan

On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 10:17:24 AM UTC-5, Dan the Man wrote:
> On Monday, November 15, 2021 at 6:48:28 PM UTC-5, And the crowd roared! wrote:
> > Robert Hunt almost had one of the great big-man touchdowns in history
> > Thursday, only to have it wiped away by the cruel letter of the NFL
> > rulebook. Somehow, the indelible image from the Miami Dolphins’ 22-10 win
> > against the Baltimore Ravens was Hunt — a 6-foot-6, 327-pound offensive
> > lineman — contorting his body and reaching the ball across the goal line
> > for a touchdown that was never going to count. “I was trying to win,” Hunt
> > said, laughing through an absurd postgame press conference.
> >
> > Because, again, he’s an offensive lineman and those guys aren’t allowed to
> > catch passes unless they’re declared eligible. (He wasn’t.) So what
> > exactly happened on the strangest play of a deeply strange Thursday Night
> > game? With 13:11 left in the fourth quarter, the Dolphins tried to run a
> > screen to running back Myles Gaskin on third-and-goal at the Ravens’ 6-
> > yard line and, for some reason, Hunt set up like the pass was intended for
> > him, turning his body back toward Tua Tagovailoa to square up for a catch
> > he was not legally allowed to make. With pressure in his face, Tagovailoa
> > lofted a pass toward Gaskin and his mob of lead blockers, and Hunt, who
> > was playing right guard, pulled the pass out of the air and rumbled to the
> > end zone. He cut past one defender and got hit low as he came to the goal
> > line, flipping through the air and stretching the ball just far enough to
> > break the plane. “I just kind of saw it and it was third down,” Hunt said.
> > “I just saw the ball and I don’t know, I just blanked out, man. I just
> > caught the ball and tried to run with it.” It was all for naught. After a
> > long discussion, the officials called the play back for illegal touching.
> > Hunt had not declared eligible and therefore he could not be the first
> > player to touch a pass thrown by the quarterback. Miami went backward 5
> > yards and Tagovailoa threw an incomplete pass on his second third-and-goal
> > attempt. The Dolphins settled for a field goal to stretch their lead to
> > six.
> >
> > In the moment, he said he forgot he wasn’t allowed to touch the ball.
> > “It’s embarrassing,” Hunt said. “It’s all over the internet, too.” In a
> > game — and season — full of strange moments for Miami, Hunt’s non-
> > touchdown was a new peak (or valley?). Remember, the Dolphins in September
> > threw an unblocked screen pass in their own end zone for a safety against
> > the Las Vegas Raiders, and blew a chance to take a halftime lead on the
> > Buffalo Bills on Halloween when a snap hit Mike Gesicki and bounced to the
> > defense while the tight end was going in motion. Even earlier Thursday,
> > Miami ran a flea flicker where Tagovailoa threw a dump-off right back to
> > Gaskin after he pitched the ball back to his quarterback. The Hunt play,
> > though, was one to remember. Even usually humorless coach Brian Flores
> > couldn’t help but chuckle about it. “Great effort. Incredible effort. It’s
> > a penalty, though,” he said. “Maybe we’ll put a play in for him.”
> >
> > <https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-
> > news/elsxvb/picture255755796/alternates/FREE_768/MIA_20211110AD1992DOLPHIN
> > SvsBaltimoreRAVENS.JPG>
> >
> > https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-
> > dolphins/article255755291.html
> In a mostly forgettable season, that will go down as a memorable moment, particularly if Hunt develops into a really good lineman.
>
> Dan
If you look at the play in real time, it looks like they were throwing it to Hunt.