The NFL has reportedly made an effort to clarify its roughing the passer rules to officials in hopes that flags will not continue to be thrown at a record pace, but we saw yet another controversial call that had a significant impact on a game in Week 5.
Late in the second half of his team’s game against the Vikings, Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett was flagged for roughing the passer after an official determined he hit Kirk Cousins too low. Here’s a look at the play:
That Vikings touchdown came after Michael Bennett was flagged for roughing the passer on THIS… pic.twitter.com/YaSivcWBy8
— Dave Loughran (@Loughy_D) October 7, 2018
The sack occurred on 2nd-and-8, so Minnesota would have been facing 3rd-and-long without the penalty. Instead, they were awarded a first down and eventually scored a touchdown to take a 17-3 lead on the drive.
There are two issues with the call against Bennett. For starters, it was questionable whether or not he even hit Cousins low. It looked like most of the initial contact was to Cousins’ waist and backside, and gravity took Bennett lower as he was finishing the tackle. Perhaps more importantly, it appeared Bennett was blocked into Cousins by Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. A defender should not be called for a low hit on the quarterback if he’s blocked into the QB’s legs.
Former NFL official Terry McAulay said the flag should not have been thrown:
Should not have been a foul for roughing the passer on Bennett. #MINvsPHI Hit starts high, slides down and wrap-up takedown. No forcible contact to the knee area or below.
— Terry McAulay (@SNFRules) October 7, 2018
This is the second controversial roughing the passer call that Cousins and the Vikings have benefitted from this season, though the first may have been even more egregious.
