NFL players are meant to be made of sterner stuff than their soccer counterparts, although Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey appears to have taken a leaf out of their book with his response to a slight butting of heads.
The Jaguars were routed 30-9 by the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night and went down with very little fight, if Ramsey’s flop is anything to go by.
After Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan thrust his head at Ramsey, the 6ft, 194lb Jaguars cornerback took a theatrical dive, appearing to forget that he was in fact wearing a helmet.
The histrionic response was picked up on camera and quickly led to widespread mockery on social media.
Some noted that the play-acting was more worthy of American football's namesake, more commonly known Stateside as soccer.
Brazilian footballer Neymar, the target of particular criticism for his acting antics, was predictably highlighted as a potential source of inspiration for Ramsey.
Others picked up on the fact that the flop came on the same day as the announcement for the nominees for the prestigious Golden Globe film awards – suggesting that Ramsey was worthy of an accolade.
Memes were the order of the day for others, including references to wrestling and phantom sniper shots…
For some, the flop simply summed up the Jaguars’ season as they saw their playoff hopes definitively come to an end.
Aside from the dive, the game saw the Titans’ Derrick Henry score a 99-yard rushing touchdown – equaling the all-time record as his team moved to 7-6 to remain in AFC playoff contention.