In the final game of the 2022 regular season, Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas gave us one of the more puzzling sequences that we've seen all year.
As the first half came to a close in Green Bay's Week 18 matchup with the Lions at Lambeau Field, Detroit was lining up for a field goal to draw within three before the break. As Michael Badgley was lining up for the attempt, officials began blowing their whistles to stop the play. At that point, Douglas then walked toward the line of scrimmage, got into the scrum of offensive linemen who were mostly still set, and tried to snatch the ball away from long-snapper Scott Daly.
Upon Douglas' attempt at taking the ball, Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper took offense to him making this rather bizarre move and gave him a shove. Douglas then responded with a hit over Skipper's head, which drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. That turned what would have been a 48-yard field goal attempt into a 33-yarder, which Badgley converted to go into halftime trailing the Packers, 9-6.
Rasul Douglas with a late entry in the dumbest penalty of the season contest. pic.twitter.com/5dHhdlfycH
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) January 9, 2023
The entire sequence is certainly a head-scratching moment and one that helped Detroit put points on the board. On Monday, Douglas did take to social media to explain what he was doing. He noted that Badgley had missed a kick earlier in the game, Green Bay has called a timeout, and he wanted to get the ball before Badgley had an opportunity at a free kick. Douglas did take responsibility for the hit on Skipper, however.
Crazy people don’t get why I did this . He missed a kick earlier in the game and we called timeout on this play . I wasn’t about to let him get a free kick so I did this . Now me hitting him after he pushed me I take full accountability for . https://t.co/00sTBoEPB3
— rasul (@rd32_era) January 9, 2023
Douglas is playing in his second season with the Packers after initially signing with the team's practice squad in October 2021. Prior to that, he was a third-round pick of the Eagles in 2017 out of West Virginia and bounced around the league after the team waived him in the summer of 2020, having brief stints with the Panthers, Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals.
This season, the 27-year-old totaled 80 tackles, four interceptions, and 13 pass breakups in 11 games (four starts).
