What do the NFL rules say on the roughing the passer call Tom Brady was given last night?
Tom Brady finds himself once again on the right side of a dubious call. Fans of the Atlanta Falcons will no doubt be feeling extremely hard done by following their loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. They sacked Brady on a pivotal third down late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's match. The Falcons were penalized for roughing the quarterback rather than having the ball routed back to them for a shot on a match-winning drive.
While there have been some questionable roughing the passer calls in the last few years, this one seemed really soft. With about three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when the incident took place. On third-and-five, Grady Jarrett sacked Brady for 10 yards, resulting in a fourth-and-15 and a punt that ought to have followed. But that wasn't to be. Instead, the Buccaneers got the flag and the first down. Watch the video below:
Nobody, nobody gets soft calls for this more than Tom Brady. It’s almost a running bit at this point
https://t.co/9OkodXxrzP
Atlanta didn't touch the ball again as Brady and the Buccaneers ran the clock down. The contentious call wasn't quickly overlooked on the internet. Former quarterback Robert Griffin III claimed that Atlanta were robbed. Fans were appalled and many made bitter remarks about Brady getting soft treatment.
But was the incident a flag?
The NFL rules on roughing the passer
The NFL's roughing the passer rule is broken into eight examples and was put into place for the benefit of player safety. It indicates that a defensive player:
"Shall not unnecessarily or forcefully take a passer down or descend on a passer with all or most of his weight."
This is saying that a defender cannot throw a passer down violently when tackling them, especially for a passer in a helpless posture (for example, during or soon after delivering a pass). Jarrett did not appear to be unnecessarily or forcefully throwing Brady to the ground during this play. This is the segment of the rule that the officials cited in this instance. The issue is that the decision the throw the flag is based on a referree's judgment, thus human error is very much a part of this.
Tom Brady and the Falcons players discuss the dubious call
While football fans were outraged by the decision, even Tom Brady wasn't quick to defend the critical call. When asked, he replied:
"I don't throw the flags."
Tom Brady on the roughing the passer call: “I don’t throw the flags.”
After the game, Grady Jarrett declined to speak to the press because he was furious about the decision. However, Falcons coach Arthur Smith refrained from criticizing the referees. Falcons CB Casey Hayward Jr. commented:
"Obviously, from my vantage point, it looked like it was a wrong call. However, they send the referees into the game to make these calls. These men are paid to make calls like this one. Although I was on the back end, it looked like a bad call from my perspective, but as I have said, these men are here to make the calls."
The Buccaneers advanced to 3-2 on the season with a narrow victory, while the Falcons dropped to 2-3. The manner of the defeat would have hurt more than the result for Atlanta fans. They were far behind and almost pulled back and were bitterly denied the opportunity. For a franchise that owes Tom Brady a comeback defeat, it does seem like a bad way to lose.
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