Let’s just say that John Harbaugh threw the Buffalo Bills a lifeline. He obviously didn’t intend to do it, but he might have forgotten that taking back-to-back timeouts is not something that the NFL allows. The refs penalized him and the Bills got an automatic first down and gained 5 yards. So, the timeout that they weren’t allowed to take by the end of the first half cost them a timeout. Sounds complicated?

We’ll talk about how this rule came into existence in the first place. But before we answer that question, let’s look at what happened in the Baltimore Ravens–Buffalo Bills game as the first half came to an end. Let’s just say that it’s also the official’s fault that Buffalo got the automatic first down.

Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills: John Harbaugh’s erroneous decision

With 1:11 remaining in the first half, John Harbaugh decided to call a timeout. Surprisingly, the referee granted it to the team, forgetting that the Ravens were given a break before the play. Teams are not allowed to call a timeout on back-to-back plays. How does the ref come into play here? Well, the Ravens got penalized in the first place because he gave them a timeout.

Isn’t that strange? Well, people forget and make mistakes sometimes. But a piece from NBC Sports gave more insight on calling consecutive timeouts. Per the article, the consecutive timeout rule changed in 2016, and here’s the modified rule:

“When it comes to the issue of a team taking a second timeout in the same dead-ball period, one specific change has been made. For situations other than an attempt to freeze a kicker, the erroneous granting of a second timeout in the same dead-ball period will result in a five-yard penalty. Generally, however, the officials are expected to decline to grant the second timeout, without a penalty.”

The article further emphasized the convoluted nature of the rule. The Ravens got the 5-yard penalty only because their request wasn’t turned down by the refs in the first place. However, things are different when the kicker is frozen, but the penalty for that is much higher.

“That’s different from the existing rule that applies when a team tries to freeze a kicker. In that case, a second timeout in the same dead-ball period triggers a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct — even if the timeout isn’t erroneously allowed,” per the NBC Sports article.

But how did the rule come into existence in the first place? What’s the history of it?

Old Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys game presses the league for a change

It was November of 2015 when the Seahawks visited AT&T Stadium to play against the Dallas Cowboys. Late in the second quarter, the Seattle Seahawks were granted consecutive timeouts as the Dallas Cowboys were in a field goal formation. The reason for the timeout is too silly to ignore.

The Seattle team initially called a timeout as the Cowboys reached field goal range. That gave them more time after the kick. However, they soon realized that they had too many men on the field and requested to stop the clock again. It wasn’t generally allowed, but the official forgot about it, and the Seahawks got the timeout anyway, without a penalty.

That urged NFL VP of Officiating, Dean Blandino, to change the rules later. Blandino accepted the mistake and urged that Seattle should have been called out for having 12 men on the field in the first place. But here we are, about a decade later, repeating the same thing. But this time, it comes with a repercussion.