At the end of a blowout that few fans were still watching on Sunday, an obscure aspect of the NFL’s kickoff rules led to a highly unusual situation.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning was sacked in the end zone for a safety, giving the Lions a 37-24 lead. The Bengals then had a safety kick from the 20 yard line, and declared that they would attempt an onside kick.

Bengals punter Ryan Rehkow kicked the ball 26 yards on the safety kick, which is one yard farther than an onside kick is permitted to travel. Under the NFL’s new kickoff rules, twas an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Rehkow for kicking the ball past the setup zone on an onside kick.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty is 15 yards from the spot of the kick, which on a normal on

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