NFL Week 5 reactions: Roughing the passer must be revisted

NFL Week 5: Roughing the passer needs to be reviewable

The Tua Tagovailoa concussion situation has caused the league to overprotect its quarterbacks. I am all for player safety and the well-being of human beings putting their bodies on the line, but there has to be a line where we allow defenders to play defense.

There were two roughing the passer calls that embody the NFL’s emphasis on keeping quarterbacks in bubble wrap. The first came in the Buccaneers-Falcons game in the fourth quarter on a third down. Grady Jarrett was able to chase down Tom Brady, swinging the 45-year-old quarterback to the ground. Flags were thrown immediately, and as the head official announced the penalty as roughing the passer, Atlanta’s Head Coach Arthur Smith was aghast. Who could blame him?

Defenders cannot hit low, cannot hit high, and apparently cannot swing quarterbacks to the ground. The officials seemed to make the call based on the fact that Brady’s helmet hit the ground. One, this game is physical, and players are going to have their heads hit the ground from time to time. Two, if you watch the replay, it is clear that there is nothing egregious in the sack, and Brady’s helmet does not touch the ground.

The NFL is making it virtually impossible to play defense, and that is why having a quarterback is so monumental in winning football games. Nonetheless, if the NFL had a review system, it would clearly see that Jarrett’s sack was obviously legal. The Falcons were surging back in this game and would have gotten the ball back with a chance to win the game. Instead, the game was taken from them because of a soft call.

The second one that occurred in week six was arguably worse than the one in Tampa Bay. This one came on Monday night in the Raiders-Chiefs matchup. Las Vegas was up 17-7 with a little over a minute left in the first half. Chris Jones easily breezed through the Raiders’ offensive line, chasing down Derek Carr from behind, sacking and stripping the ball away in the process. Jones possessed the ball as he sacked Carr.

Flags were thrown because Jones’s body weight landed on Carr. Basic physics tells you that a 300-pound human being tackling another human being from behind is going to land on top of the other person. Jones even tried to brace his fall, so that he would not fall completely on Carr. Another example of how difficult it is for defenders to naturally tackle.

This play would have been a major turning point in the game. Kansas City would have had the ball in Raiders’ territory with timeouts, and an opportunity to score going into the half before receiving the second-half kickoff. Instead, the Raiders ultimately kicked a field goal, going up 20-7. A 10-point swing that could have easily affected the outcome of the game.

The Chiefs would win, but it shows that we need to have a system of making the game fair for both offense and defense. In addition, we want games to have as many right calls as possible, and this would eliminate a lot of wrong calls that the officials are making.