14 Feb 2023 10:23 pm
I didn't have a dog in the fight, as I don't follow either team.. That said, I don't think I can recall a similar play in my many years of watching games that resulted in an illegal hit penalty... Look at #2 in the rules you posted where it's underlined & states "of the DEFENSELESS player's body" .. He wasn't hit from behind or a blind spot, nor was he hit late or while out of bounds.. We've all seen QB's taking much bigger hits, where they were struck from behind without even having a roughing the passer penalty called.. We see the same every game with Receivers getting drilled hard in vulnerable positions, many times without them even having caught the ball..jerrab » 14 Feb 2023, 10:53 pm » wrote: ↑ nfl rules
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https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/pos ... -roughness
f) If a player uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily. Although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet and facemask is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protecting those players who are in virtually defenseless postures, including but not limited to1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face with the helmet or facemask, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; or(2) Lowering the head and violently or unnecessarily making forcible contact with the “hairline” or forehead part of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body; or(3) “Launching” (springing forward and upward) into a defenseless player, or otherwise striking him in a way that causes the defensive player’s helmet or facemask to forcibly strike the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face—even if the initial contact of the defender’s helmet or facemask is lower than the defenseless player’s neck. (Examples: a defender buries his facemask into a defenseless player’s high chest area, but the defender’s trajectory as he leaps into the defenseless player causes the defender’s helmet to strike the defenseless player violently in the head or face; or a defender, using a face-on posture or with his head slightly lowered, hits a defenseless player in an area below the defenseless player’s neck, then the defender’s head moves upward, resulting in strong contact by the defender’s mask or helmet with the defenseless player’s head, neck, or face [an example is the so-called “dip and rip” technique]).