Yet, it was one play that didn’t draw a flag that could prove a most consequential non-call if the NFL decides to join the NBA and NHL in seriously cracking down on floppers, as ESPN broadcas…
NFL officials were heavily scrutinized for some of the flags they threw in the four divisional-round games that saw the Chiefs, Bills, Eagles and Commanders advance to next weekend’s conference championships.
Yet, it was one play that didn’t draw a flag that could prove a most consequential non-call if the NFL decides to join the NBA and NHL in seriously cracking down on floppers, as ESPN broadcaster Troy AikmanNFL players can be penalized for the big umbrella “unsportsmanlike conduct” infraction, but there isn’t an official rule against flopping, and Aikman urged the league to address that during one of his several conversations with Joe Buck over the officiating in the Chiefs’ 23-14 victory.On the same possession where he benefited from his late slide that caused two Texans players to crash into each other,, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to try to deke referee Clay Martin’s officiating crew into throwing another flag to aid Kansas City’s drive, which ended with a touchdown that put the Chiefs up by eight in the fourth quarter. Scrambling to his left, Mahomes pulled up just as he went out of bounds. When linebacker Henry To’oTo’o tapped him, Mahomes threw himself dramatically to the ground but failed to fool the officials — or impress Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback who earlier took umbrage at the roughing-the-passer call against Houston.Chris Russo finally admits he ‘shouldn’t be picking on’ Caitlin Clark after wild Chiefs rant “He’s trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down,” Aikman protested. “And that’s been the frustration, and I get it. I understand it. That’s been the frustration for these defensive players around the league.” Even Mahomes acknowledged Wednesday during a radio interview with 96.5 The Fan that he may have gone too far with that one play."He's trying to draw the penalty. Rather than just run out of bounds, he slows down. And that's been the frustration and I get it. I understand it. That's been the frustration for these defensive players around the league."Earlier in the drive, Aikman said he “could not disagree” more with the roughing penalty called on To’oTo’o and defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi, who smashed into each other and made incidental contact with Mahomes, who was underneath them after his late slide.“He’s a runner. I could not disagree with that one more, and he barely gets hit,” Aikman said, noting that Mahomes shouldn’t have been afforded the extra protections provided quarterbacks in the pocket once he started running on the play. “That’s the second penalty now that’s been called against the Texans. … It was a late flag, and it was Clay Martin who threw it.”ESPN’s rules analyst Russell Yurk concurred that no flag should have been thrown on the play.Yurk also disagreed with a roughing-the-passer flag on Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. in the first quarter that erased a three-and-out by Kansas City, which went on to score a field goal on that drive: “It looked like that first contact was to the upper chest area. I didn’t see anything there that supported a foul,” Yurk said. Martin, the referee, told a pool reporter after the game that on the Anderson penalty, “I had forcible contact the face mask area,” and on the To’oTo’o infraction, when the quarterback slides, “he is considered defenseless. The onus is on the defender. I had forcible contact there to the hairline, to the helmet.”Walt Anderson, the longtime NFL senior vice president of officiating who moved into a new role as the league’s rules analyst and club communications liaison last year, said SundayAnderson said in an appearance Sunday on the NFL Network that it might be up for debate about whether there was forcible contact on the roughing-the-passer flag in the first quarter, but he emphasized that the league’s rulebook calls for officials to throw the flag if there’s any doubt whether roughing has occurred. As for the second foul, where Mahomes slid late, Anderson said the two Texans defenders who crashed into each other made incidental contact with Mahomes once he was on the ground, so replay assist couldn’t be used in that circumstance to pick up the flag.Anderson noted that the league’s competition committee could revisit either infraction and tweak the rules this offseason.Vividseats: Official Ticketing Partner of New York Post
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