NFL history was made in yesterday’s matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals.
Panthers linebacker Jacoby Windmon became the first player to ever be penalized for a hip-drop tackle. The flag flew with just under eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, when the rookie defender brought down Cardinals running back James Conner on this play . . .
The first flag of the season for a hip-drop tackle was thrown today in Cardinals-Panthers. Nearly 20 have been fined after the fact, but no flags until today. pic.twitter.com/wTLnhSEkbk
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 22, 2024
The rule, in an attempt to prevent serious lower-body injuries, was implemented at the beginning of this year. It sits in Section 2, Article 18 under the Player Conduct Rule of the NFL Rulebook, which reads as follows:
It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:
- grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and
- unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee
Luckily, Conner was not injured by the tackle—which resulted in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. In fact, he ripped off a 36-yard reception and a 6-yard touchdown run to close out the very same drive.
And luckily for Windmon and the Panthers, they came away with the 36-30 overtime win.
