National Football League

The 49ers were penalized for celebrating a TD they didn't score

Published Dec. 9, 2016 12:57 p.m. ET

Dan Graf

You can’t blame the now 1-11 San Francisco 49ers for being eager to celebrate a touchdown. After all, they don’t score nearly as many as most teams.

But they did get a little ahead of themselves in the first half against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, when the 49ers blocked a punt by Pat O’Donnell and Dontae Johnson ran it back for what would appeared to be the first touchdown of the game.

The only problem is Johnson ran out of bounds at the 4-yard-line, and – not noticing the official was signaling as such -- the 49ers busted into celebratory snow angels and snow slides in the end zone. That led to a 15-yard penalty, and – you guessed it – a field goal instead of a touchdown.

Final score: Bears: 26, 49ers 6. This is how 1-11 happens.