A strange defensive breakdown in Thursday night’s Chicago Bears-New England Patriots game has prompted a prominent sports radio host to call for the NFL to look into whether the play warrants formal scrutiny.
Late in the first half of Thursday’s game, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson caught a screen pass at midfield and ran it all the way for a touchdown as time expired. What drew attention wasn’t the score itself, but the actions of Bears defensive back Malik Muhammad, who appeared to run in the opposite direction of Stevenson as the play developed.
Craig Carton, host of “The Craig Carton Show” on OutKick, flagged the moment on Friday’s broadcast, saying it was the kind of play that fuels suspicion among people skeptical of legalized sports betting.
“What Malik Muhammad does next is why every single person that is against legalized wagering thinks the fix is in,” Carton said. “Rather than step into the hole and make an attempt to tackle Stevenson, he literally runs away from the play.”
Carton argued there was no reasonable football explanation for Muhammad’s route on the play, and that the league should look into it.
“And that’s the type of play that needs to be investigated,” he said. “The NFL now has to sit down and interview Malik Muhammad and interview Ben Johnson of the Bears and get an explanation as to why [Muhammad was] running away from the ball carrier? Like it makes no sense at all. There’s not even a logical, reasonable explanation of ‘Well, I was going this way because I thought he might cut outside.’ No, there was no chance to cut outside because by you coming this way, you opened up a seven-yard gap.”
Carton also suggested the play may have drawn extra scrutiny simply because it happened on a Thursday night broadcast.
The touchdown did not end up affecting the outcome of the game. The Bears went on to win, and also covered the point spread, meaning the play had no bearing on bettors’ results.
As of now, there is no indication the NFL has opened any formal inquiry into the play. Carton’s comments reflect his own commentary on the broadcast rather than any official league action.
