NFL world frustrated with latest roughing the passer penalty

Trailing 17-7 late in the first half against the Las Vegas Raiders, it appeared as though the Kansas City Chiefs got a huge play when Chris Jones not only sacked Derek Carr on a third down but took the ball from him. The referees had other ideas.

Instead of getting the ball in Raiders territory, Jones and the Chiefs were called for a roughing the passer penalty.

The ruling was that Jones landed all of his body weight on Carr. It was controversial, to say the least.

Before the season started, there was a directive from the NFL to ease off of the roughing the passer penalties. That notion has certainly been abandoned in Week 5. On Sunday, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers benefited from a roughing the passer penalty called against Grady Jarrett and the Atlanta Falcons. The penalty in Monday’s game drew a similar reaction.

Of course, there was some defense, not so much of the rule itself but its application.

By and large, though, the reaction to Monday’s controversial penalty was negative.

The exchange was a big one. Instead of Kansas City getting a first down in Las Vegas territory, the Raiders got a first down across midfield. That led to a Daniel Carlson field goal. The Chiefs did get those three points back when Matthew Wright nailed a 59-yarder as time expired.

Still, with the turnover, Kansas City would have likely gone to halftime down either three or seven points and getting the ball back to start the second half. Instead, the Chiefs had to fight to get the halftime deficit back to only 10 points.

[Photo Credit: ESPN]