Week 5 of the NFL season saw a series of controversial roughing the passer penalties that prompted outcry across the league. Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen does not think the timing of the flags is coincidental.
Allen believes the NFL is cracking down on quarterback hits because of the public furor surrounding the handling of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s head injury. The defensive lineman thinks the NFL is “overreacting” to what happened to Tagovailoa.
“I think the league is trying to make a statement,” Allen said Tuesday, via Sam Fortier of the Washington Post. “They’re overreacting to what happened to Tua.”
Allen’s theory probably has some other backers around the league. Tagovailoa’s injury happened roughly two weeks ago, and the Dolphins and the league were both criticized for letting him play after experiencing another scary incident the Sunday before. It is not difficult to draw a line between that incident and some of the sketchy calls that were made over the weekend.
Any increased emphasis on roughing the passer may be unintentional on the part of referees, or it may just be coincidental. That said, there has been a backlash to the calls, so the league probably is not helping itself no matter what it does.
More must-reads: