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Jameson Williams Unsportsmanlike Celebration Cost the Lions a Point vs. Eagles

Stephen Douglas

Jameson Williams was very excited to score agains the Eagles.
Jameson Williams was very excited to score agains the Eagles. / @AryePulliNFL
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The Lions trailed the Eagles by six points in the second quarter on Sunday night when quarterback Jared Goff hit wide receiver Jameson Williams as he crossed through the defense downfield. Williams caught the ball in stride and ran into the end zone to tie the game.

Then he jumped on the goalpost and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Thanks to that 15-yard penalty kicker Jake Bates had to attempt a 47-yard extra point on a windy night in Philadelphia. The kick went wide right and the game remained tied 6–6. Bates came into the game having made 33 of his 34 attempts this season.

Here's the celebration that cost the Lions a point in a low-scoring game.

And here's the play Williams was celebrating.

The NFL certainly loves their goalposts. You're not allowed to dunk on them. You're not allowed to give them hugs like you're greeting them at the airport at the end of Love Actually.

It's doesn't really make sense that jumping into the arms of the goal post padding gets you the same number of penalty yards as hitting someone helmet-to-helmet, but this is the kind of dastardly stuff that the NFL is trying to legislate out of the game.

Hopefully, Williams has learned his lesson.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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