Matthew Judon did not at all agree with a fine that he drew for a takedown of Patrick Mahomes during last Sunday’s game.
The Ravens linebacker was fined $21,056 because of an attempted tackle of the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback in the first quarter of the eventual 33-28 Baltimore loss, a play that drew a penalty for unnecessary roughness. Here is video of the sequence, which appeared to show a clear horse collar.
Here's a look at that horse collar tackle from Matthew Judon. You can see he grabs the back of Mahomes' jersey. #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/NpNnfJN9fr
— Mitchel Summers (@WIBWMitchel) September 22, 2019
The penalty made a big difference in the close game as the Chiefs, instead of having to settle for a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the Ravens’ 4-yard line, got an automatic first down at the 2 and eventually scored a touchdown.
When news of the fine broke on Saturday, Judon responded by tweeting a GIF from the TV show “Family Guy” of lead character Peter Griffin clutching his knee in pain. It seemed to be a shot at Mahomes, either for exaggerating the contact or for getting preferential treatment from the referees.
https://t.co/3u8R2seeWY pic.twitter.com/DO9mP45zug
— Matthew Judon (@man_dammn) September 28, 2019
While Judon may have also thought that the tackle was not a horse collar by the definition of the rules, former referee and rules analyst Gene Steratore indicated at the time on Sunday that it was indeed a horse collar.
If a quarterback is inside the pocket, there can be no foul for a horse-collar tackle. However, once the QB is outside of the pocket, the horse-collar penalty applies. This is a good call by the refs in #BALvsKC as Mahomes is clearly outside of the pocket. pic.twitter.com/1yuEkwwvKU
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) September 22, 2019
The reigning MVP Mahomes has become the NFL’s golden boy in a sense and may soon be getting paid like it too. As such, resentment from other players, whether justified or not, simply comes with the territory.
