The Lawrence hit and the rulebook

Our fanbase, particularly a large portion of the Reddit community needs to learn the rules. The hit was illegal and it is black and white.

Lawrence started his slide 5 yards before 0 left his feet. Lawrence would have been ruled when he initiated his slide, WELL before the first down market.

There are no special rules for QB’s in this scenario. Any player has the same exact level of protection.

“when a runner declares himself down by: falling to the ground, or kneeling, and clearly making no immediate effort to advance. sliding. When a runner slides feet or head first, or simulates sliding the ball is dead the instant he touches the ground with anything other than his hands or his feet, or begins to simulate touching the ground; Notes: Defenders are required to treat a sliding runner as they would a runner who is down by contact. A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide. This does not mean that all contact by a defender is illegal. If a defender has already committed himself, and the contact is unavoidable, it is not a foul unless the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.”

1. Lawrence checked every box on his end. He starts his slide a good 3 yards before the first down marker and about 5 yards before 0 is going to tackle him.

2. Al-Shaair used his forearms and landed a hit in the head and neck area.

Al-Shaair could have and should have made a better effort at “pulling up” exactly as the rules state.