EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Of the many penalties the St. Louis Rams have racked up over the past three years, few have looked as silly as what cornerback Janoris Jenkins did against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Midway through the third quarter, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had just completed a pass to receiver Demaryius Thomas for a gain of three yards on the right side of the field. With Denver looking to push the pace, the offense lined up quickly in an attempt to keep the drive going and catch the Rams off guard. But Jenkins had other ideas and as he jogged back to the opposite of the field, he reached down and knocked the ball away from Broncos center Will Montgomery.
The officials saw Jenkins' move and promptly threw a flag for a 5-yard delay of game infraction. Apparently, Jenkins needed a breather.
“That’s what I was told," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "I have yet to confirm that, I didn’t talk to him today. We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The penalty took a potential third-and-8 and made it third-and-3, but Jenkins was bailed out by Manning overthrowing tight end Jacob Tamme on the next play to lead to a punt. No harm was done, but it was the type of silly penalty that could have kept a drive alive.
“I could understand him being tired," Fisher said. "With that tempo and that pace and everything and him chasing, playing deep balls and defending deep balls…they were trying to get up on the line and we were trying to get a sub done. As it worked out, we would not have had any problems defensively. You can’t do that. I thought it was an excellent call. You don’t see that very often. For [head linesman] George Hayward to see that and call that was good officiating.”
It was just another strange play on yet another adventurous day for Jenkins. He was also responsible for allowing the Broncos' lone touchdown before the end of the half when he didn't stay over the top on a deep ball that went to Denver receiver Emmanuel Sanders for a 42-yard score.