JJ Watt offers strong reaction to refs missing facemask penalty
Oct 1, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; Former Houston Texans player J.J. Watt speaks to the crowd after being inducted into the Texans Ring of Honor during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
JJ Watt offered a strong reaction to the referees missing a facemask penalty late in Thursday night’s Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
The officials missed a blatant facemask foul committed by the Rams which should have helped given the Vikings better field position at the end of the game. Instead, the Rams got credit for a safety, which helped them seal the win.
Fans couldn’t believe that the officials had missed the call. Watt made a sarcastic crack in response.
“Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a ‘hip drop’ tackle in real time,” Watt wrote on X.
Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a “hip drop” tackle in real time.
😂😂
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 25, 2024
It’s a great point by Watt.
It’s hard for referees to enforce all the rules as it is. And the NFL recently banned the hip-drop tackle because of the injury risk they believe it presents. The problem is, like Watt said, it’s hard for the officials to recognize a hip-drop tackle in real time.
Watt previously complained when the hip-drop tackle rule was put into place because he felt it was one more way the league was diminishing defenses. The NFL could consider making a change so that facemask fouls are reviewable in the future.
