NFL officials were closely scrutinized for some of the flags they threw during the four divisional round games that saw the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles and Commanders advance to the conference championships of the next weekend.
Yet it’s a game that didn’t draw a flag that could prove to be a most consequential non-call if the NFL decides to join the NBA and NHL in seriously cracking down on failures, as the ‘suggested ESPN broadcaster Troy Aikman during the Texans-Chiefs game. .
NFL players can be penalized for the broad general offense of “unsportsmanlike conduct,” but there is no official rule prohibiting flopping, and Aikman urged the league to address this issue during one of its many conversations with Joe Buck about officiating in the Chiefs. Victory 23-14.
On the same possession where he benefited from his late slide that caused two Texans to collide, drawing an unnecessary and widely deployed roughness flag, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to try to fool the officiating crew from referee Clay Martin to throw another flag to help Kansas. City’s drive, which ended with a touchdown that put the Chiefs ahead by eight in the fourth quarter.
Rushing to his left, Mahomes stopped just as he went out of bounds. When linebacker Henry To’oTo’o tapped him, Mahomes dramatically threw himself to the ground but failed to fool the officials — or impress Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback who had taken more umbrage early in the rough passer call against Houston.
“He tries to take the penalty. Rather than just going out of bounds, he’s slowing down,” Aikman protested. “And that’s been the frustration, and I understand. I understand it. This has been the frustration of these defensive players around the league.
Earlier in practice, Aikman said he “couldn’t disagree more” with the brutal penalty given to To’oTo’o and defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, who collided and made accidental contact with Mahomes, who was under them after his delay. slide.
When Martin announced the penalty, Aikman intervened: “Oh, come on!
“He’s a runner. I can’t disagree with that one anymore, and he’s barely touched,” Aikman said, noting that Mahomes shouldn’t have benefited from the extra protections provided by quarterbacks in the pocket once he started to play. “This is the second (questionable) penalty now that has been called against the Texans. … It was a late flag, and it was Clay Martin who threw it.
“They need to fix this in the offseason,” Aikman added.
ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk agreed that no flags should have been thrown on the play.
After the game, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans suggested his team expected the Chiefs to benefit from officiating: “We knew going into today that it was us against everyone. world. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone.
Yurk also disagreed with a rough passer flag on Texans passer Will Anderson Jr. in the first quarter that erased a three-and-out by Kansas City, who then scored a field goal during that practice: “It looked like the first contact happened in the upper chest. I didn’t see anything there that would warrant a foul,” Yurk said.
Martin, the referee, told a pool reporter after the match that on Anderson’s penalty, “I had forced contact with the mask area” and on the To’oTo’o infraction, when the quarterback slides, “he’s considered defenseless.” The responsibility lies with the defender. I had forced contact with the hairline, with the helmet.
Walt Anderson, the NFL’s longtime senior vice president of officiating who moved to a new role as league rules analyst and club communications liaison last year, said Sunday that both calls were correct under current rules.
Anderson said Sunday during an appearance on NFL Network that there could be debate over whether there was forced contact on the rough passer flag in the first quarter, but stressed that the League rules call for officials to throw the flag if there is any doubt about the draft.
As for the second foul, where Mahomes slipped late, Anderson said the two Texans defenders who crashed made accidental contact with Mahomes once he was on the ground, so replay assistance couldn’t be used in these circumstances to pick up the flag. .
Anderson noted that the league’s competition committee could review either offense and change the rules this offseason.
Aikman, for his part, would like to see the league crack down on flopping as well.
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Behind the Call breaks down the NFL’s biggest stories throughout the season.
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