Two penalties against the Texans in Saturday’s 23-14 loss to the Chiefs drew a lot of attention during and after the game, but the NFL’s head of officiating said both calls were correct under current rules.
Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson said on NFL Network that there was it could be a debate on whether there was forced contact by Texans defensive end Will Anderson over what was deemed rough toward the passer during the first quarter of the game, but noted that the book The NFL rules call for officials to throw a flag if there is any doubt about brutality. . Anderson also said replay assistance can help officials recover a flag if there was no contact with a quarterback’s helmet, but there was contact during that game.
The competition committee may revisit either of these things this offseason.
“That’s the rule for this year,” Anderson said.
The Texans were also flagged for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Mahomes after a late slide, even though it appeared two Texans defenders collided during accidental contact with Mahomes. Anderson said the replay shows the “hairline” of a Texas helmet hits Mahomes once the quarterback is already on the ground and that replay assistance cannot be used to adjust the call in this circumstance.
