- A roughing-the-passer penalty drew the ire of the NFL world on Monday night.
- Chiefs defender Chris Jones took down Raiders QB Derek Carr in the backfield and stripped him of the ball, drawing a flag from officials and boos from the home crowd.
"What is a catch?"
It's a question that has puzzled NFL fans and prognosticators alike for years. Varying interpretations in important moments have shaped what should be a simple definition into an enigma of athletic legalese.
Now this week, a new confounding question has been posited to the NFL public: What is roughing the passer?
On Sunday, Tom Brady drew a somewhat baffling roughing-the-passer penalty after being taken to the ground by Grady Jarrett of the Atlanta Falcons. Jarrett appeared to have executed a sack — a task he is paid millions of dollars to do. But the official thought the lineman "unnecessarily" threw Brady down, and the Buccaneers were gifted a penalty that helped them ultimately seal the game.
On Monday night, the questions compounded when Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was strip-sacked by Chiefs defender Chris Jones late in the first half.
Again, a flag was thrown for roughing the passer.
—CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 11, 2022
The penalty gave the Raiders a first down that ultimately turned into a field goal for Las Vegas. While the Chiefs were able to get the points back before halftime, and ultimately won the game 30-29, as the teams left the field for the mid-game break, the Arrowhead crowd made their feelings known with some incredibly loud boos.
—SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 11, 2022
—Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) October 11, 2022
Like the hit in the Buccaneers-Falcons game, it is again unclear what exactly Chris Jones was supposed to do in this situation. He had reached Carr, and until the whistle is blown, it's his job to bring him down or force a turnover.
Earlier in the game, it appeared the referees were doing what they could to mitigate this sort of situation from happening.
On the Chiefs' first possession of the game, Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby broke through the line and wrapped up Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes never hit the ground though, because the refs blew the whistle basically as soon as Crosby reached him.
—FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 11, 2022
But on the play that earned Jones the penalty heard 'round the world, the ball had come loose.
After the ball comes free, the play opens up — at that point, can Carr even be considered a passer? — and Jones is obviously going to do whatever he can to get his team possession.
By the end of the play, Jones had been called for roughing the passer while possessing the ball.
On Twitter, fans and pundits were as perplexed as they were frustrated.
—Jordan Zirm (Roll Dang Guards) (@JordanZirm) October 11, 2022
—Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) October 11, 2022
—Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) October 11, 2022
—Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) October 11, 2022
—Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) October 11, 2022
—Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 11, 2022
—Adam Lefkoe (@AdamLefkoe) October 11, 2022
—Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 11, 2022
—nick wright (@getnickwright) October 11, 2022
Even some NFLers — both current and former — chimed in, wondering how exactly to play defense if players were not allowed to tackle the quarterback.
—Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) October 11, 2022
—Lawrence ‘LT’ Taylor (@LT_56) October 11, 2022
—Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) October 11, 2022
The confusion over the rule comes in the wake of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's concussion, which brought a new wave of attention to the health and safety protocols in place to protect players from head trauma.
While it's difficult to fault the NFL for attempting to keep its players as safe as possible while playing an inherently violent game, it's also clear that there needs to be some clarification in the coming days about what type of contact is allowed against the quarterback.