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Danny Trevathan loses TD in premature celebration; teammate injured in aftermath

You'd think NFL players would learn after guys like DeSean Jackson and Leon Lett were denied easy touchdowns as the result of premature celebration, but Denver

Doug Farrar

Danny Trevathan loses TD in premature celebration; teammate injured in aftermath
Danny Trevathan loses TD in premature celebration; teammate injured in aftermath /
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You'd think NFL players would learn after guys like DeSean Jackson and Leon Lett were denied easy touchdowns as the result of premature celebration, but Denver Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan found himself equally humiliated on Thursday night -- bereft of a sure score because he decided to be a wiseacre. On their first drive of the fourth quarter, the Ravens had fourth-and-1 from their own 29, and quarterback Joe Flacco threw a quick pass toward running back Ray Rice. Trevathan admirably jumped the route for an interception and had clear sailing to the end zone. However, he dropped the ball without provocation before it crossed the plane of the end zone, and the ball eventually rolled out of the end zone for a touchback. The net result of the play: A nine-yard loss for the Ravens, but a new set of downs. Of course, the Ravens drove 80 yards for a touchdown, because karma is a thing that exists.

Trevathan was lucky in that his blunder eliminated what would have been a 49-17 blowout, and became a 42-24 contest after Baltimore's follow-up touchdown. He was not so lucky in that fellow linebacker Wesley Woodyard, Denver's best defensive player with Von Miller and Champ Bailey out of the game, was hurt on the play. He was trying to grab the ball before it went out of bounds, but he was bowled over by receiver Brandon Stokley, and limped off the field.

“It was a dumb play in retrospect," Trevathan said after the game. "It’s not going to happen again. I was just so in the moment, you know, it was kind of selfish of me. I’m growing from it, and I’m not going to let nobody stop me from getting better.”

Former Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth summed up the feelings of just about everyone who watched the play:

Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio made sure Trevathan knew the gravity of his mistake.

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Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.

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