Another roughing penalty riles NFL fans, social media

For the second consecutive day, a roughing-the-passer penalty stirred confusion in an NFL game.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones sacked Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on third-and-8 at the Las Vegas 46-yard-line with 1:13 left in the first half. Jones stripped the ball and came away with it, but he also landed on Carr at the end of the play, although he appeared to try to brace the fall. Officials flagged Jones for roughing the passer, allowing the Raiders to keep possession.

Fans at Arrowhead Stadium erupted in boos when the call was announced. The play was not reviewed.

Las Vegas scored four plays later on a 50-yard field goal, taking a 20-10 lead.

Referee Carl Cheffers ruled “the defender landed on him with full body weight,” he told a pool reporter after the game. “The quarterback is protected from being tackled with full body weight.”

The fact the ball came out didn’t change the ruling, Cheffers said.

That call came a day after a roughing-the-passer penalty was called when the Atlanta Falcons’ Grady Jarrett sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The referee ruled that Jackson “unnecessarily” threw Brady to the ground, drawing the penalty. Instead of being forced to punt, the Buccaneers ran out the clock in a 21-15 victory.

“What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground,” referee Jerome Boger told a pool reporter after the game. “That is what I was making my decision based upon.”

In the NFL rulebook, it 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.”

The NFL has been criticized for its failure to protect quarterbacks after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher following a violent hit in a game against Cincinnati. Tagovailoa sustained a concussion when his head was slammed to the turf by the Bengals’ Josh Tupou, who was not flagged on the play.

Here’s a sampling of the social media reaction after the penalty on Jones:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.