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The Seahawks and Falcons were playing in a tightly contested, one-score game in the fourth quarter at Lumen Field when play came to a sudden halt.
Neither team had called a timeout. Instead, the officials stopped the game with 5:52 on the clock and directed both teams to head to the sidelines.
Why did the officials call for this? There was an unlicensed drone flying above Lumen Field, and most professional sports organizations clear the field when there is an unidentified aircraft over the stadiums.
DRONE DELAY in the Falcons/Seahawks game…#DirtyBirds #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/eyEDCmC6Vc
— SportsGridTV (@SportsGridTV) September 25, 2022
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The NFL is one of those leagues. And as the NFL’s Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier said before the season, clearing players from the field is all about trying to protect the players and team personnel.
“I’m concerned about the nefarious actor, quite honestly,” Lanier said when discussing drones, per Bloomberg.com.
Federal law dictates that drones “can’t fly within three miles of a stadium during a major sporting event.” That includes NFL, MLB and NCAA Div. I football games, among other events.
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However, the NFL estimated that there were at least 1,400 incidences of drones flying within that range in 2021. It is unclear how many have been logged through three weeks in 2022, but not all drone appearances result in delays of the game.
In fact, relatively few NFL games have been delayed by drones to date. That said, other sporting events have been delayed in a similar fashion. That includes Saturday’s Washington vs. Stanford football game, which was also played at Lumen Field.
This is PEAK #Pac12AfterDark… They stopped play in the Washington-Stanford game because there’s a drone above the stadium LMAOOOOOO! pic.twitter.com/n4lyOaBJKR
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) September 25, 2022
Given that two drones appeared at Lumen Field over the weekend, the NFL will likely keep an eye on Seattle’s stadium in the coming weeks. The Seahawks next play at home in Week 6 against the Cardinals.
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As for the delay Saturday, it lasted only a handful of minutes. However, it quashed Atlanta’s momentum, as Marcus Mariota lost a fumble shortly after it ended.
The Seahawks were unable to score on the ensuing possession, giving Atlanta a 27-23 victory.