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Ex-GM: Tua injury affected ref treatment of Brady in Week 5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Former NFL GM explains how Tua Tagovailoa's scary injury affected ref treatment of Tom Brady in Week 5

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 10/12/22

We all saw Tua Tagovailoa suffered a head injury on "Thursday Night Football" a few weeks ago. The Miami Dolphins quarterback suffered one of the scarier concussions you'll ever see, seizing up on the ground before having to be carted off the field and taken to the hospital via ambulance.

If you didn't see it happening live, you certainly caught the clip of the play sometime shortly after. It was everywhere, and it once again vaulted player safety and concussion protocol directly into the spotlight for the NFL. That's something the league undoubtedly avoids at all costs, especially when that conversation focuses on the health of a starting quarterback.

Quarterbacks and concussions equal a loss of money and interest for the league.

It was that play and the visual of Tagovailoa getting tackled to the ground that was in the head of referee Jerome Boger this past Sunday as he watched Atlanta Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett whip Tom Brady to the ground in the fourth quarter of a close game between the Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That is, at least, according to a perspective offered by former NFL general manager Bill Polian for The 33rd Team.

It appeared to be a perfect, momentum-changing sack, but Boger called it "roughing the passer" and instead of forcing a 4th-and-15 — Brady and the Bucs were given a new set of downs and ended up kneeling out the clock for a win.

It was a terrible call. See for yourself.

Calling this ‘roughing the passer’ on Grady Jarrett with the game on the line is a fireable offense pic.twitter.com/BdNERYUwsb
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) October 9, 2022

You see, the play was a clean sack. There was nothing wrong with Jarrett's hit on the quarterback, other than the fact that the quarterback was Tom Brady. That's what jaded NFL fans would tell you.

Polian doesn't believe in that conspiracy, though. In fact, he thinks it was the hit on Tagovailoa a few weeks ago that affected Boger's decision at the moment.

"I’ll posit a theory that is pure speculation, but not out of the realm of possibility. Everyone in the football community and the officials specifically were aware of the Tagovailoa issue. If they hadn’t seen it live, I’m certain they saw it as part of their training film," Polian said. "It’s entirely possible Boger saw Jarrett use the same slinging motion on Brady that injured Tagovailoa and thought, sincerely and with the best of intentions, 'That’s a foul.'"

What went through Boger's head at the time of the "penalty" was frankly irrelevant, because either way, it was a terrible call.

Although sadly, it wasn't the worst call of Week 5. That distinction went to the "roughing the passer" against Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football in arguably the worst call of all time.

What a weekend of "football" it was.

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