Chiefs confused by safety decision on Mecole Hardman's kickoff return

The NFL is still working out the finer points of the new kickoff rule, and at a preseason game on Saturday, players, coaches and referees on the field all seemed confused.

On this play, the Jaguars had the kickoff and the Chiefs had Mecole Hardman and Deneric Prince as receivers. Prince let the ball sail over his head thinking it was going to be a touchback, but it landed in the end zone and then bounced back to the 1-yard line. Hardman then ran into the end zone, knelt down and grabbed the ball.

The referees initially ruled it a touchback. The replay reversed this decision and ruled it a safety because Hardman was the one who brought the ball back into the end zone.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid indicated after the game that he wanted a more detailed explanation.

“I think they're trying to work it out. Usually a ball that goes into the end zone and is touched there is a dead ball, but we'll work it out and see what they come up with,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said the replay showed the right decision.

“I'm just glad they checked it,” Pederson said. “The ball ended up in the end zone, and by the rule, that's still a live ball. Last year, that would have been down — it would have been dead and the ball would have come out to the 25 last year. Now the ball is live. So the ball was in the end zone, came out to about the half-yard line. The returner was in the end zone, but pulled the ball back into the end zone when he got down on his knees, so safety. That's the rule. Safety.”

Pederson said his staff understood the rule and immediately told him the play needed to be reviewed. That happened in the final two minutes of the first half, so the review had to come from the locker room and not from Pederson, who objected, but he brought it to the officials' attention and told them they needed to review the play.

“I couldn't do it, but I left it up to the officials. They sat down, worked together, obviously reviewed it, and that was the right decision,” Pederson said. “I think that's a good point for all teams to coach our returners. … It's really a good learning moment for everybody, including us, for our returners, and it's just a great way to learn this rule and the game of football.”

Hardman believes there is still a lot of work to be done before the NFL to ensure all the rules for the new kickoff are clarified.

“It is a rule You have to find out”, said Hardman about the Kansas City Star“I'm glad it happened in the preseason. Many teams can learn from it.”

With less than a month until the start of the regular season, NFL players, coaches and officials are running out of time to get their heads around it.