Buccaneers punter Jake Camarda had to wait three quarters for his first career NFL punt. It's fair to say he got more than he bargained for.
Camarda kicked the ball not one, not two, but three times against the Cowboys before eventually sending a ball out the back of the end zone for a touchback.
On the first kick, Camarda hit the Cowboys' video board, one of the few field hazards in the NFL that constitute a ground-rule replay of the down. On the second, he was run into, which led to a penalty on the Cowboys and another re-kick, this time on fourth-and-8. The third kick finally stuck.
Undoubtedly an interesting debut.
DOINK
— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2022
📺: #TBvsDAL on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/xlZm1YHXQD pic.twitter.com/3shQtzXgpX
MORE: Follow the Cowboys vs. Buccaneers 'Sunday Night Football' matchup live
Camarda, a fourth-round pick out of Georgia in 2022, may well have taken the board as a challenge. He is no stranger to NFL stadiums, having played games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Caesars Superdome and New Orleans and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
What is the NFL rule for hitting the AT&T Stadium video board?
The rule around the video board is extremely simple: If it's hit, the down is replayed.
As referee Ron Torbert described it Sunday night, the play is treated as an inadvertent whistle. The clock is reset and the ball is placed back at the previous spot.
AT&T Stadium's video screens have created this problem since the stadium's opening 13 years ago. Titans punter A.J. Trapasso, during one of the greatest preseasons in NFL history, hit the board during the inaugural game in 2009. (He also scored a touchdown on a fake punt in the Hall of Fame Game that year.)
