With the release of a new film that provides a detailed analysis of the infraction, the NFL hopes to shed light on what exactly constitutes “roughing the passer.”
For the most of the last 15 years, “roughing the passer” has been a contentious punishment as the league works to protect quarterbacks as much as possible. There have undoubtedly been plenty of dubious calls in 2023 that have drawn criticism from a wide audience.
A video was uploaded by NFL Football Operations X (formerly known as Twitter) to attempt to explain the “Roughing the Passer” rule to coaches, players, and spectators. The account posted the following on X:
“Because the act of passing often puts the quarterback (or any other player attempting a pass) in a position where he is particularly vulnerable to injury, special rules against roughing the passer apply. The Referee has principal responsibility for enforcing these rules. Any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the Referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls. The Referee will be guided by the following principles:”
From the @NFL Video Rulebook ⬇️
ROUGHING THE PASSER
Because the act of passing often puts the quarterback (or any other player attempting a pass) in a position where he is particularly vulnerable to injury, special rules against roughing the passer apply. The Referee has… pic.twitter.com/OtAL4WpfTU
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) November 9, 2023
The issue is that referees rarely consistently make the right call when it comes to “roughing the passer,” much as in any other football decision. There are numerous occasions where they will not raise the flag for a nasty blow to the head of a signal-caller, but they will raise the flag for standard sack plays such as this one:
We just had a roughing the passer on a sack play. Whatever.pic.twitter.com/HWD62PXHWm
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 5, 2023
The issue with judgment call penalties such as “Roughing the Passer” is precisely that. It is never consistently enforced, and far too frequently, dubious calls or inconsequential calls will affect the result of a game.
It seems like the NFL won’t be able to completely fix officiating until they do one of two things: either employ full-time officials, or deploy a sky judge who can assist on-field officials in rectifying errors.
