Boomer Esiason was wrong about his 49ers penalty accusation

It is not clear what led Esiason to make that assertion. For one, the entire play took place behind the line of scrimmage. Second, according to the NFL rulebook in Article 2 of Section 3, ineligible receivers can advance past the line of scrimmage after a pass is thrown as long as they do not engage any blockers. It is clear from the play diagram posted by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats that Brendel, wearing No. 64, was clearly behind the line when Jennings threw to McCaffrey. Brendel did not engage any Chiefs defenders before McCaffrey caught the pass.

The side-angle video of the play confirms this. Brendel is behind the 21-yard line when the pass is thrown. He does cross the line when the ball is in the air, but is nowhere near any Chiefs players until McCaffrey has possession.

It was very strange for Esiason to throw out such a big claim and have it go unaddressed by the CBS crew. If his claim were correct, it would represent a major miss by the officials, since the play accounted for the only touchdown of the first half.

This has not been a great week for Esiason, who has been called out for inaccurate reporting once already.