Two penalties in favor of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during Saturday's divisional-round game against the Houston Texans reignited debate on how the officials protect quarterbacks. From ESPN's commentators to the Texans' coaches, there were questions about whether the referees made the right calls, but according to the NFL, they were correct.
On Sunday, NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson appeared on NFL Network's "Gameday Morning" to explain why the roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness calls were the right ones. Based on the description of the rule book, both calls had to be made, even if ESPN rules analyst Russell Yurk disagreed.
Anderson explained that when a penalty is in question, the officials are not supposed to throw the flag — except on a roughing the passer call. Further, replay assist cannot step in to pick up a flag if contact is made in the head and neck area, but it can assist if the contact isn't in that area. Of course, Texans defender Will Anderson Jr. made contact with Mahomes' face mask, even if he just grazed it.
In another case of just grazing Mahomes' helmet, in the third quarter, an unnecessary roughness call got an audible, "Oh, come on," from commentator Troy Aikman. As Anderson explained, Mahomes was considered down during his slide while Houston linebacker Henry To'oTo'o came in for the hit. The hairline of To'oTo'o's helmet made contact with Mahomes; thus, the hit drew a flag.
"They're gonna protect the quarterbacks," the former senior vice president of officiating said.
Anderson added that there could be room for the league to tweak the rules and use more replay assists to reverse these close calls; however, the unnecessary roughness flag would not have been picked up as enough contact was made.
If the NFL competition committee agrees that wider use of replay assist is necessary, it will have to wait for next season. In the meantime, defensive players are left wondering what to do with quarterbacks like Mahomes, who make late slides a part of their game. Still, the onus is on teams to ensure they play well enough so these close calls don't greatly impact the game.
