What Went Wrong with Denver Broncos Safety Rahim Moore?

Last year Marian Barber of the Chicago Bears stepped out of bounds while the Bears were trying to run out the clock against the Denver Broncos. This allowed the Broncos to get the ball back and eventually beat the Bears. I thought that was the dumbest play I’ve ever seen until I saw Rahim Moore fail to cover the deep part of the field late in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens. It was an improbable touchdown and eventually led to a Ravens victory.

This got me to thinking, what would have caused Moore to have such a brain cramp? How could he have let that happen? Even if the receiver caught the pass, all Moore had to do was tackle him. Instead, he misplayed the pass and allowed Jacoby Jones to run into the endzone.

The only reasonable explanation I could find was asking if Moore was potentially concussed. Was he mentally out of it and was trying to gut things out? Are these moments of pure stupidity caused by guys getting clunked on the head and forgetting even the simplest rules of football? In the case of Barber, he had to know that stepping out-of-bounds was a bad idea. But something caused him to forget that small fact. Moore just needed to not let the receiver get behind him. And yet, Moore was so out-of-position his attempt to play the ball looked even more ridiculous.

It is a tough way for a team to lose. Broncos fans are beside themselves. But perhaps it will have teams further evaluate a players’ mental state and see if they’re potentially concussed. That is the only defense for this whole situation.