Originally Posted by
IndyBison
I don't remember the play where the runner's helmet came off. Helmets pop off all the time because players don't always wear them tight enough. Unless you saw the defender grab a helmet opening (face mask, ear hole, outside edge) you can't flag it for a face mask personal foul. This sometimes happens in a pile of players or the covering official is shielded from the helmet of the runner. You can't guess that it was pulled off.
I think I saw the play by 94 you are talking about. It jumped out at me live as a possible hit out of bounds. The runner was going up the sideline with him behind the runner. There was another defender between 94 and the runner who legally hit the runner near the sideline and rode him out of bounds. The contact by 94 appeared to be while the runner was out of bounds, but all his contact was against his teammate. I assumed that was why the official passed. Doesn't mean he was right or he will be graded as a correct call, but that's what I saw on video.