Playing quarterback at an NFL level is hard enough that you don’t want to have to worry about seemingly random things during a game.
Trying to convert a third down becomes a lot trickier when the guy that is snapping the ball to added a little bit extra to the pigskin before starting the play.
During Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers’ Malik Willis got a little bit more than he bargained for on one play.
On a third-and-10 play during the first half, centre Josh Myers vomited on the ball before snapping it to Willis and, no, unfortunately the QB wasn’t wearing gloves.
Packers head coach Matt Lafleur noted after the game that while the play called for Willis to pass the ball, the quarterback tucked the ball and ran with it, going out of bounds short of the first-down marker.
“I asked Malik why he didn’t throw the ball on third down, and he told me that Josh threw up on the ball,” LaFleur told reporters, per ESPN. “I was like, ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.’
“Matter of fact, the official came over to me, Shawn (Hochuli) came over to me and said, ‘We saw your centre throwing up on the ball, do you want us to take him out next time?’
“I said, ‘Absolutely, please do that.’ Because you’re talking about a critical situation, and it’s third down, and I’ve never had a throw with vomit on a football. I think Malik probably didn’t appreciate that.”
It was Willis’ first start for the Packers after being traded to Green Bay from Tennessee on the eve of the new season. With starting QB Jordan Love suffering a knee injury late in Green Bay’s Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Willis took over under centre.
Willis completed 12-of-14 pass attempts against the Colts while also rushing six times for 41 yards. He also threw the first passing touchdown of his career as the Packers won the game 16-10.
Apparently vomiting on the field isn’t a new thing for Myers. The offensive lineman said that it has happened before, including during the Week 1 loss to the Eagles.