What happened to the officers’ polemics

Your instincts are correct if you feel NFL officials have thrown more hanky panky this 2021. Penalties increased to 13.88 per game during the regular season, up slightly from what it was in 2020 (13.14), but still well below what it was in 2019 (16.17) and 2018 (15.87).

That’s the only context you need as you watch this year’s postseason games. It would be a surprise if we see a lot of games filled with infractions and, hopefully, we’ll spend the next four weeks talking about the performance of players and coaches, not the penalties they got (or didn’t get).

But there are plenty of rules-based twists to consider beyond the hanky-panky. In the 2020 AFC Championship Game, for example, then-NFL vice president Al Riveron allowed a non-reviewable play review. He ultimately overturned a call that should not have been considered in the game that decided who would represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

We’ll cover all your questions about the officials’ decisions in this space, which will be updated when an explanation of the rules, important context or any situation with the officials is required. Join us on this journey. (The most recent plays will be up to the top).

Cowboys ran out of time
San Francisco 49ers-Dallas Cowboys, Wild Card Round – 0:14 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

What Happened: Time ran out when the Cowboys attempted to punt the ball away from the 49ers’ 24-yard line on the final play of the game.

How it was resolved: Official Alex Kemp declared the game over, even after the play was delayed for referee Ramon George to adjust the spot.

Analysis: Kemp and George did their jobs. With 14 seconds remaining, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had rushed for 17 yards. Generally, in that situation, NFL players are advised to hand the ball directly to the referee or other official to speed up the next play. By rule, a restart cannot occur until a referee has touched the ball to confirm and/or adjust the spot.

Instead, Prescott handed the ball off to Tyler Biadasz, who put the ball on the ground near the 24-yard line and stood on it as the rest of the Cowboys offense gathered. George had to weave his way through the line to get to the ball, eating up valuable seconds. The kick came with one second to play, rendering Prescott’s carry meaningless.

This was entirely the Cowboys’ fault, from the risky play with no timeouts remaining to Prescott’s inability to hand the ball off to a referee. Kemp and his team did exactly what they were expected to do.

Darden took a late hit
Philadelphia EaglesTampa Bay Buccaneers, Wild Card Round – 12:01 to play in the fourth quarter.

What Happened: Buccaneers kick returner Jaelon Darden returned a kick all the way to the 22-yard line, and Darden took a late hit.

How it worked out: The ball was moved back to the 10-yard line because of a holding penalty on the Buccaneers’ Rob Gronkowski.

Analysis: The referees did not flag a late, blatant hit on Darden that was illegal for multiple reasons. Replays showed that Darden was knocked down by Eagles deep man Marcus Epps. Darden had started to get up, with his left knee still on the ground, when the Eagles’ KeeSean Johnson lowered his head and hit Darden’s helmet. The contact was hard enough to knock Darden to the turf, where he remained for a few moments.

There is definitely an argument for holding back some tissues at the end of a beating, but the rules should always be enforced with respect to player safety. The hit on Darden was illegal because it was late and also because it was a violation of the helmet rule, which prohibits players from hitting an opponent with a helmet.

Punishment for roughing the passer on the edge for a hit on Brady?

Eagles-Buccaneers, Wild Card Round – 14:28 left in the first quarter.

What Happened: Eagles defensive wing Derek Barnett hit Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady after he threw an incomplete pass.

How it was resolved: Referee Craig Wrolstad penalized Barnett for hitting Brady, moving the ball 15 yards downfield.

Analysis: Wrolstad’s team threw the second most handkerchiefs for roughing the passer (12) during the regular season, and since the referee is usually the official who watches for that foul, it was reasonable to expect it to happen on Sunday. As it turned out, we heard from Wrolstad in the first minute of the game and not for a good reason.

Barnett hit Brady below the waist, but above the knee. The NFL rule book says, “A defender may not initiate a spin or lunge and forcefully strike the passer at or below the knee area, even if another player is contacting him.”

This was a rule the NFL developed in part after Brady suffered a torn ACL from a low hit in 2008. However, the hit was legal, and if you have any doubt, you can note that Brady himself never asked Wrolstad for the penalty.

Was it really roughness to the passer?
Las Vegas Raiders-Cincinnati Bengals, Wild Card Round – 1:51 to play in the fourth quarter.

What Happened: Bengals defensive wing Khalid Kareem made contact with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr after Carr threw a 15-yard pass to running back Josh Jacobs.

How it was resolved: Referee Jerome Boger threw a handkerchief for roughness to the passer. The extra 15 yards gave the Raiders a 30-yard gain overall, putting the ball at the Bengals’ 35-yard line as the Raiders drove for what could have been the tying (or winning) touchdown.

Analysis: The NFL has moved drastically over the years to protect quarterbacks, creating rules that prohibit them from being hit hard in the head or neck area, as well as below the knee, when in the protective pocket or in a defenseless position.

Boger did not specify why the handkerchief was thrown, but at best, it appeared that Kareem’s shoulder or right arm grazed Carr’s helmet. It would be up to Boger at that point to determine whether that contact was “forced.” He is not tasked with taking into account the game situation, but I would like any call to be obvious to the viewer, whether it was in the last quarter of a playoff game or the first quarter of Week 1.

Carr did what he should have done; he made his case to Boger by throwing his head back and pointing to his helmet. It’s always possible for another angle to show stronger contact, but from what we could see on replay, that wasn’t the case.

Bad whistle on Bengals touchdown.
Raiders-Bengals, Wild Card Round – 1:15 left in the second quarter.

What Happened: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow took off toward the right sideline on third down while on the Raiders’ 10-yard line. With the ball in the air, a whistle blew on the feed. Then, Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd caught the pass and scored.

How it worked out: After a lengthy discussion by the officials, led by referee Jerome Boger, the play was ruled a touchdown.

Analysis: Unless the whistle came from the crowd or somewhere other than the seven officials on the field, this did not have to be a touchdown. There are two options. Either the whistle was intended to declare that Burrow left the field, or it was an unintentional whistle. In either case, NFL rules require the play to end at the time of the whistle.

NFL Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1(m) states: “When an official erroneously blows the whistle while the ball is still in play, the ball is immediately dead.” In this case, the rule continues and states, “If the ball is in the player’s possession, the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play at the spot where the play was ruled dead or replay the play.”

Therefore, the touchdown should not have counted and the play had to be replayed. Not reviewable. Players usually stop playing when they hear the whistle and it is unfair to allow the action to count after the whistle.

A similar play occurred during a 2015 game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. In that case, official Gene Steratore correctly stopped the play even as Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola was running upfield, but mistakenly placed the ball where Amendola was when the whistle blew.

Raiders go out from the 2-yard line after the receiver runs off the field.
Raiders-Bengals, Wild Card Round – 1:18 to play in the first quarter.

What Happened: Raiders kick returner Peyton Barber caught the ball, which was bouncing near the sideline, and ran off the field at the 2-yard line.

How it worked out: Barber was ruled out at the 2-yard line and put the Raiders in lousy field position for their third possession of the game.

Analysis: Barber was trying to take advantage of a little-known rule in the NFL in an effort to send the ball to the 40-yard line. What he wanted to do was get off the field and then fumble the ball. When an ovoid touches a player after he stepped out of bounds, the ball is declared out of bounds at that point. If Barber had gotten off the field first, the Bengals would have been penalized for an out-of-bounds kick and, by rule, official Jerome Boger would have put the ball at the 40-yard line. But because Barber caught the ball before going out, it was ruled that he kept it when he came out at the 2-yard line.

Multiple teams have tried to take advantage of this rule in recent years by deliberately coming off the field and then fumbling the ball, most notably Randall Cobb of the Green Bay Packers in 2021.