Jon Runyan Jr. reveals explanation for Packers bizarre offside penalties

Penalties remained an issue for the Green Bay Packers in their Week 9 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, including two bizarre offside calls on fourth down.

Jon Runyan Jr. was at fault for both.

The Packers ran their own version of the Philadelphia Eagles' "Brotherly Shove," a highly successful quarterback sneak on fourth-and-short. Twice, Jordan Love picked up the first down comfortably, only for a penalty to negate it.

There appeared to be nothing wrong initially, but Runyan was called for lining up in the neutral zone. He provided an explanation after the game.

We finally have an answer for Packers' offside penalties vs. Rams

Initially, the offside calls were hard to explain because Runyan didn't move before the ball was snapped. Instead, it had to do with his positioning. Runyan said his head was lined up over the back of the football, which is why it was called for offside.

"I didn't know that was a rule. That's how I've been lining up on short yardage my whole life," said Runyan, according to Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

"I guess that's what league's trying to do to stop QB sneaks now, for whatever reason. I was just unaware of that. I didn't know, and I was doing what I've been doing. We've ran a lot of QB sneaks since I've been here, and nothing's changed. Got called for it today."

When rewatching the penalties, the officials were correct. Runyan is ahead of the other guards and tackles. His head breaks the "plane." That's on him.

The first time? Fair enough. But Runyan should've adjusted for the second quarterback sneak. The penalties proved costly and ended Packers drives.

However, it's also fair to call out the officials for a lack of consistency. Why aren't other teams called for the same thing? There are countless examples of Eagles linemen making the same mistake as Runyan. Some consistency would be nice.

But they were right. Runyan was technically offside, and now we have the explanation. It's yet another example of the Packers hurting themselves with penalties.

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