Chargers' JC Jackson commits inexplicable penalty to gift Dolphins points before halftime

Jacob Camenker

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Chargers' JC Jackson commits inexplicable penalty to gift Dolphins points before halftime image

With just two seconds left in the first half, it didn't seem likely that the Dolphins were going to score against the Chargers.

Tua Tagovailoa and Co. were on their own 47-yard line and were preparing to throw a Hail Mary before the half ended. The play was just a last-ditch effort to break a 17-all tie before the half and, in reality, there was no guarantee the ball would reach the end zone.

In fact, Tagovailoa released the ball early and threw it well short of the end zone. All the Chargers had to do was swarm receiver Erik Ezukanma and the half would be over.

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Instead, cornerback JC Jackson committed an inexplicable penalty. He ran up behind Ezukanma and shoved him hard to the ground with the ball in the air.

Jackson was called for pass interference as a result of that shove. That positioned the Dolphins to kick a 41-yard field goal to break the 17-all tie and take a 20-17 lead into the half.

Naturally, Jackson's mistake drew plenty of attention and was blasted by NFL fans and analysts alike on social media. NFL Network's Rich Eisen was among those to weigh in on the "insanely boneheaded play."

As bad as Jackson's mistake was, he was able to atone for it. He intercepted a pass on the Chargers' first defensive possession after halftime to prevent the Dolphins from answering a half-opening Los Angeles score.

Still, the mistake cost the Chargers three points in a game that they lost 36-34. So, suffice to say that Jackson's mistake helped to swing the outcome of the contest.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.