Hekker's fumble then clutch punt

[CGI_Ram]

Here's how it played out;

4th and 6 - BUF 49 (15:00) (Punt formation) 6-J.Hekker FUMBLES (Aborted) at STL 36, and recovers at STL 36. 6-J.Hekker punts 0 yards to BUF 49, downed by STL.

As it turns out, the Bill's possession ended in a punt after that play.

The fumble was horrible. But, the recovery was amazing. What a pivitol play!

 

[superfan24]

It was great for a rookie player to compose himself and make up for the drop!

 

[-X-]

Yep, pretty heads up play. And he knew he was gonna get rocked too.

BTW, I guess he's considered a runner after the ball hits the ground because he got a nice little helmet-to-helmet collision on that one. I'm just curious about the rules. If it's a free ball, can he still punt? And if he can still punt, he's afforded no protection?

 

[bluecoconuts]

Yep, pretty heads up play. And he knew he was gonna get rocked too.

BTW, I guess he's considered a runner after the ball hits the ground because he got a nice little helmet-to-helmet collision on that one. I'm just curious about the rules. If it's a free ball, can he still punt? And if he can still punt, he's afforded no protection?

I think you can punt whenever you want, with whoever you want... Tom Brady punted in the playoff game against Denver last year. It's just obviously a free ball at the time... No idea about the protection though.

 

[Sum1]

I was curious about that as well, X. If the snap is botched there is no long roughing the kicker?