The Atlanta Falcons were completely screwed on an absurd roughing the passer penalty that was called on Grady Jarrett late in the team’s 21-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Tampa Bay was leading 21-15 and trying to maintain the lead. They had a 3rd-and-5 at the Falcons 47 when the game-changing call occurred.
Jarrett sacked Tom Brady for what should have been a loss of 10 yards to set up a 4th-and-15. But Jarrett was called for roughing the passer.
Worst roughing the passer call I’ve ever seen on Grady Jarrett#ATLvsTB pic.twitter.com/FZ5yb2hjQg
— Tony Clements (@TonyCMKE) October 9, 2022
refs called this roughing the passer on 3rd down and i genuinely do not know what Grady Jarrett could have done differently pic.twitter.com/VX6i0UpJiL
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 9, 2022
Instead of Tampa Bay likely punting to Atlanta with around three minutes left, the call gave the Bucs first down at the Atlanta 32.
The Bucs were able to get the Falcons to burn their final timeout. Brady later converted a 3rd-and-5 to seal the win as it allowed the Bucs to kneel out the clock.
The call was terrible for a few reasons. One, Jarrett did nothing that should have triggered a penalty flag. He wrapped up Brady and tackled the quarterback for a sack. Two, that was a total game-changing call that allowed Tampa Bay to keep the ball rather than punt.
It’s been a while since the soft roughing the passer calls were the highlight of the NFL like they were in 2018. But this call won’t soon be forgotten.
