In what's turning into a weekly happening, San Francisco 49ers' edge rusher Nick Bosa was called for what appeared to be a questionable roughing the passer penalty Thursday night against Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith.
Was this roughing the passer on Nick Bosa? pic.twitter.com/SLABT6Vhb5
— (@sportingnews) December 16, 2022
It's hard to see what officials saw from the play to warrant throwing a flag. Bosa didn't go low, and he didn't go high. He didn't throw Smith to the ground unnecessarily. Nor did he land on top of the quarterback with all his body weight.
The NFL wants to keep its quarterbacks healthy, which is admirable. However, the league needs to find a happy medium, as the calls impact games. Not only did the flag on Bosa keep the drive alive, leading to a Seahawks' field goal, but it also wiped a pick-six by Deommodore Lenoir off the scoreboard.
Officials eliminate the 49ers pick-6 on a roughing the passer call on Nick Bosa pic.twitter.com/yNu5ImrA0P
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 16, 2022
Thursday's roughing penalty on Bosa isn't the first to draw the ire of football fans. Last week alone, several made the rounds on social media.
Sack by the #Bucs on the first play results in a roughing the passer call.pic.twitter.com/TjfEosWmaJ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 11, 2022
If this is roughing the passer, then the Roquan Smith on Kenny Pickett throw down was roughing too. The inconsistency with this call has been alarming pic.twitter.com/nhjdCG1j9k
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) December 12, 2022
Despite the increase in debatable calls, NFL executive vice president of football operations, Troy Vincent, defended officials to reporters at this week's NFL December league meeting, saying they've been "very consistent and accurate" before adding, 'but they are human."
Vincent also said there would be a "healthy discussion" about whether or not the NFL will allow roughing the passer fouls to be reviewable and if reviews would occur via a coaches' challenge or league review.
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