The XFL’s rule book allows for some plays that would never be legal in the NFL — or any other level of football — and we saw an incredible example of that on Saturday night.
That is when the Houston Roughnecks broke out a “double pass” play that left the Orlando Guardians defense completely confused and thrown off guard.
Have a look.
That is Brandon Silvers completing a short pass behind the line of scrimmage to wide receiver Jontre Kirklin, who then gets himself into some space and launches a 49-yard touchdown pass to Deontay Burnett as part of the Roughnecks 44-16 win to improve them to 4-0.
Yes, that play is completely legal in the XFL.
The XFL’s passing rule says that as long as a forward pass is completed behind the line of scrimmage, the pass catcher is also eligible to throw a second forward pass downfield.
That initial pass from Silvers to Kirklin was clearly behind the line, so everything about it was nice and legal.
It was a perfect play design and even better execution of the play. The XFL has always been about innovation and offering things the NFL does not, and sometimes those innovations end up making their way to the NFL. This one, however, seems pretty dramatic and might end up staying in the XFL.
