KANSAS CITY, Mo. The referee Carl Cheffers said he followed the rule of roughing the passer when he handed down a penalty to Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones late in the beginning of Kansas City’s comeback 30-29 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.
The Chiefs had scored just in order to reduce their deficit to 17-7, when Jones took the ball away of Raiders quarterback Derek Carr just before halftime. Jones hit Carr and then came to the ballreplays revealed the ball was loose, and Jones was able to recover it cleanly -However, Cheffers did not hesitate to throw a flag for roughing the quarterback.
Cheffers in a pool report after the game, said that he observed Jones landing on Carr with all of his body weight when Carr was in his pocket.
Cheffers claimed that Carr “gets full protection of all aspects of what we give the quarterback in a passing posture. So when he was tackled, my ruling was the defender landed on him with full body weight. The quarterback is protected from being tackled with full body weight.”
Cheffers stated that the fact that Jones removed the ball from Carr was not relevant.
“[Carrreceives protection for passing until he’s able to defend himself at any time,” Cheffers stated. “Just like in the event that he had thrown his ball away, he receives protection. … This continues until he’s no longer possession of the ball.”
The Chiefs were furious over the penalty which took place in less than two minutes remaining in the second half, and was not considered a penalty.
Chiefs Coach Andy Reid stormed off the sideline to rant. After the teams traded field goals in the closing minutes, which put the Raiders in the lead 20-10 Reid took a swat at Cheffers again before the teams headed for their locker rooms.
“I took it off my chest,” Reid stated. “I did what I wanted to say.”
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes claimed he’s witnessed Reid angry, but not because of the decision of an official.
Jones admitted to bracing himself using his arm that wasn’t holding the ball, so that he didn’t fall on Carr with all his body weight.
“How should I tackle people?” He said. “How do I avoid rolling on him? I’m doing my best. I weigh 325 pounds. okay? What do you would like for me to accomplish? at all out to catch the quarterback.”
Jones spoke of a roughing the passer charge against Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett the previous day, for a seemingly innocent play against Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady. The penalty allowed the Buccaneers an initial down and let them finish the game with the 21-15 win instead of giving the Falcons the chance to score a win.
“They have put so much emphasis on ruffing the penalties for a passer that we’re required review it in the booth”, Jones said. Jones explained. “That’s an additional step. … Sometimes the appearance of a person can be misleading. The situation is getting increasingly absurd. It’s now costing teams games.
“I actually took the ball off the field and gravity carried me to the ground. It’s a roughing passer call in a crucial point within the game. It’s the third down and we’re down 10 point. … The truth is that a number of these calls for roughing the passer will be rescinded [after] video review]. ].”
Mahomes stated that the penalty he imposed on Jones “wasn’t the best decision in the world But he added that he understood the situation of the referee.
“You would like to ensure the safety of the players and everything similar to that is involved in the game, but simultaneously, you have to consider the commonsense element that men are playing football and are trying at winning football matches in the process, Mahomes said. Mahomes stated. “Whenever there’s an obvious and they commit a crime in order to hurt someone it’s important to be sure it’s properly dealt with however at the same at the same time, you do not want it to impact the game of football, and possibly alter the result.”
