Ghost tackles and ill-time celebrations: in the NFL, silly mistakes doom teams

On Sunday, we saw how small mistakes can decide a game in a league as competitive and intricately choreographed as the NFL

RESPECT: Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers talk after their game at Highmark Stadium. Picture: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images

There is a reason why they don’t call American football “the beautiful game.” 

It can be poetic, for sure, but often NFL games are decided by flat-out ugly mistakes. Successful NFL play-calling requires pinpoint execution by every player on the field and a single slip-up can lead to disaster. We saw several such cases on Sunday.