CNN
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Another game in the NFL, another questionable penalty roughing-the-passer by an officiating crew.
Just a day after the umpires were criticized for penalizing Grady Jarrett’s dismissal of Tom Brady in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Monday Night Football and the dramatic 30-29 win of the Kansas City Chiefs asked similar questions about the Las Vegas Raiders.
Late in the first half, Chiefs defenseman Chris Jones released Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and grabbed and landed on Carr while simultaneously taking the ball from him.
Although it looked like a clean stripe sack, head umpire Carl Cheffers threw his flag and punished Jones for roughing up the passer, to the confusion of fans at Arrowhead Stadium and everyone watching at home.
“The quarterback is in the pocket and he’s in a passing stance,” Cheffers explained in the pool report after the game. “He’s getting full protection of every aspect of what we’re giving the quarterback in a passing stance. So when he got tackled, I decided the defender landed full body weight on top of him. The quarterback is protected from being tackled at full body weight. For this reason, my decision was to rough up the passers-by.
When asked if the ball getting out of Carr’s hands changes the penalty, Cheffers said: “No, because he still gets passport protection until he can defend himself.
“So if he’s in a passing stance and he’s actually trying to make a pass, he’ll be given full protection until he can actually protect himself. The fact that the ball came out and was subsequently recaptured by the defense is irrelevant to quarterback protection.
Jones said after the game he believes those penalties should be reviewed.
“It happened so quickly,” Jones said. “You know, it kind of looked like it at first, but when you actually watch it through the video and slow it down, you see I’m kind of tense.
“And the referee may have seen a big 300lb man land on top of him [Carr] and i get it I’m not saying that the referee is wrong, but I’m just saying that situations like this can affect the game enormously, especially in the playoffs, a critical situation like this, a game-changing game, it can affect the whole game. Excuse my language but we just have to take the initiative as a league and see what we can do better.”
The penalty allowed the Raiders to continue their drive and ended with a field goal from Daniel Carlsen as they extended their lead to 20-7 before halftime.
The night did not end well for Las Vegas, however, as their fourth loss of the season saw them build a lead over their division rivals that had grown to 17.
After a frustrating night for the Raiders, star wide receiver Davante Adams knocked over a cameraman as he left the field, for which he later apologized.
After the game, Adams – who joined the Raiders in the offseason after being traded from the Packers – addressed the incident when speaking to the media.
“Before I say anything, I want to apologize to the guy who ran off the field and ran and jumped in front of me,” Adams said.
“I come from the field and collided with him and pushed him. I think he hit the ground so I want to apologize to him because that was just frustration mixed with him as he ran in front of me and I shouldn’t have reacted that way and that’s how I reacted initially. I would like to apologize to him for that.”
Adams himself had another excellent evening on the field, finishing with 124 receiving yards, two touchdowns and multiple pass interference calls against Kansas City as he tormented defensive backs.
But despite the 17-0 lead in the second quarter, no lead is certain against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Mahomes threw four touchdowns – all against Travis Kelce – as Kansas City pulled off a remarkable comeback and demonstrated its potential Super Bowl credentials.
Kelce finished with an exceptional stats line, with seven catches, 25 receiving yards and 24 points on four touchdowns — a career touchdown high for the 33-year-old.
“I just worked my ass off for these guys and ran tonight,” Kelce told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game. “It’s all I did for [Chiefs] Kingdom. They showed up on a Monday night knowing everyone has work tomorrow and they were loud and proud here.”