Donald Trump, just days before his debate with Kamala Harris, took to his Truth Social platform to complain about football.
“I can’t believe the NFL is effectively getting rid of the always exciting Kick Off Return,” the GOP nominee claimed on Friday.
“Such an exciting part of Football. What are they doing? BEGINNING OF THE END!”
The NFL introduced a new “dynamic” kickoff rule for this season in an effort to increase the amount of returns and decrease the risk of injuries during kickoffs.
It did not get rid of kickoff returns as Trump claims.
The new kickoff format allows only the kicker and returners to move prior to the ball being fielded, according to a CBS Sports rules explainer, with a designated “landing zone” for the ball to land between the goal line and the 20-yard line.
If the ball falls in the landing zone, it must be returned unless it reaches the end zone and is downed for a touchback which would trigger the ball to be placed on the receiving team’s 20-yard line.
The league said it saw a 15% increase in the amount of kickoff returns this preseason compared to last year’s preseason, according to USA Today.
And on the first Sunday of the regular season, Arizona Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas proved that kickoff returns never left the game.
Dallas, who started at the 4-yard line, fielded a kick from Buffalo Bills player Tyler Bass as his team faced a 31-20 deficit on the road.
He proceeded to take it to the house and became the first player under the new rule to return a kick for a touchdown.
The efforts were not enough, however, as the Bills held on to beat the Cardinals 34-28.
You can check out a clip of Dallas’ massive 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown below.
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