Rob Issa, FISM News
NFL officials are being roundly criticized after a pair of questionable roughing-the-passer penalties in Week 5 sparked outrage among players, coaches and fans.
The league is not considering changing the rule, according to The Associated Press.
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was penalized during Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders when he landed on quarterback Derek Carr while also recovering a fumble on the hit. Replays showed the ball was clearly loose and that Jones recovered but referee Carl Cheffers threw a flag for roughing the passer.
“The quarterback is in the pocket and he’s in a passing posture. He gets full protection of all the aspects of what we give the quarterback in a passing posture,” Cheffers told a pool reporter after the game. “My ruling was the defender landed on him with full body weight. The quarterback is protected from being tackled with full body weight.”
On Sunday, Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was flagged by referee Jerome Boger for a normal sack on Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady “roughing the passer”
vs
Mahomes sack pic.twitter.com/XI73E4HPwM— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) October 11, 2022
Jones believes the league should make the roughing call reviewable by video replay.
“Especially in critical situations in games,” Jones said. “We’ve got to be able to review it in the booth, you know what I mean? I think that’s the next step for the NFL as a whole. If we’re going to call it penalty at that high (of rate), then we’ve got to be able to review it and make sure, because sometimes looks can be deceiving.”
However, the AP reported the league is not likely going to make the call reviewable because of a few disputed calls. Overall, the number of roughing-the-passer penalties is down 45% from this point last year.
The league reacted to outrage following an egregious missed call in the NFC championship game in January 2019 between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams and made pass interference penalties reviewable for the 2019 season. It didn’t go well and the rule was eliminated after one year.
The NFL was heavily criticized for failing to protect quarterbacks after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was carried off the field on a stretcher following a violent hit in a game against the Bengals. Tagovailoa sustained a concussion when his head slammed to the turf on a tackle by Cincinnati’s Josh Tupou, who flung the QB backward and wasn’t flagged.
The AP also reported that the league did not give officials a directive to emphasize roughing-the-passer calls following Tagovailoa’s injury.
The NFL rulebook states: “Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls.”
The rulebook also notes: “When in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic against the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer.”
Protecting QBs has always been a priority for owners because they are usually the highest-paid player on a team, by far. Fifteen QBs are making at least $25 million this season.
“You want to protect the players in all aspects of the game, but at the same time, there’s a commonsense factor,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “The refs watch tape and they practice, just like we do. I’m sure they’ll go back and make the corrections.”
Referee Jerome Boger, who called the flag on Jarrett, made another questionable call earlier in that game on Tampa’s Vita Vea. He also had a similar call last week on a hit against Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Referees interpret the rule in different ways and some are more protective than others. The league’s rulebook allows that.