Roughing the passer has become such a volatile topic of discussion in the NFL, and perhaps that’s because the league is instructing officials to throw the flag when in doubt. At this point, it’s hard to explain what is — and what isn’t — roughing the passer; and explanations from officials aren’t making a whole lot of sense.
In a scene that is becoming increasingly common across the NFL, Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Washington Commanders featured one of the most egregious roughing-the-passer calls of the season.
Washington rookie pass rusher KJ Henry — a fifth-round draft choice out of Clemson — appeared to record his first career sack and first career forced fumble on a big third down stop. Even though he sacked Mac Jones, pushing New England out of field goal range and forcing a punt, that’s not how it was called on the field.
Replays showed that Henry’s tackle was textbook in its execution. He hit Jones from the blindside with a clean shot, wrapping him up and driving him to the ground. There was no unnecessary force or helmet-to-helmet contact, yet the officials still felt the need to throw a flag.
Following Washington’s 20-17 win over New England, we got an explanation as to why.
PFWA pool reporter Nicki Jhavbala of the Washington Post asked referee Adrian Hill: Can you walk us through that play when KJ Henry is called for roughing the passer? What did you see? Was the call appropriate from what you saw?
“I was the calling official and the call was roughing the passer due to full body weight,” Hill said. “The ruling on the field was that the defender came down with forcible contact, chest-to-chest. He didn’t perform one of those acts to remove most of that body weight – a gator roll or a clear to the side when he was coming in. He came down directly with that force on the player, so the category was full body weight.”
Q: In those situations where the defender is coming from that weak side and the quarterback has sort of his back turned to him, what is the defender supposed to do to avoid putting his full body weight on him?
“There are two common techniques,” Hill said. “One we call the ‘gator roll’ where if he takes that player and rolls to the side so they both land on their side, that 90-degree rotation as he comes around. Or he comes down and breaks the fall first with hands and knees almost like in a crab-like fashion on top of the quarterback.”
According to NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk, former NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino said on the Fox broadcast that officials are being directed to make these calls. While Blandino doesn’t like it personally as a foul, he conceded that this is what the league office directed the officials to call.
While there is some accountability, the answer doesn’t exactly resonate with a lot of fans and those in the NFL world. It doesn’t seem like a suitable explanation for what transpired on the field.
Next, they’ll be asking defensive ends like Henry to play two-hand touch.
[PFT]