Cowboys fans across the globe are tired of reliving Tony Romo's fourth quarter interception. It's practically been on a replay loop on every sports show for the entire week. By now you've probably seen the play and formed your own opinion on who was at fault. What you didn't see is the science behind the play.
ESPN's regular series, "Sport Science", broke down the play and explained the physics behind the interception.
The first disruption in the play comes when Tyron Smith is pushed back into Romo and their feet get tangled forcing Romo to take a short lead step into his throw. This causes his hip rotation to shorten and reduces the velocity of the throw.
The second disruption begins when Broncos linebacker, Danny Trevathan, takes a shorter angle to the ball than Cowboys tight end, Gavin Escobar. This allows Trevathan to arrive at the ball 16 feet from Romo as opposed to 17 feet by Escobar.
Trevathan extends a full seven feet before leaving the ground to grab the ball and thus sealing the victory for the Broncos.
The debate on whether that was the correct read by Romo or not will continue. One thing you can't debate is the science behind the play and the fact that no matter what the reason, Romo didn't make any excuses for the interception.
Take a look at this video, it explains the play much better than I can.
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