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Lamar Jackson didn’t get the benefit of the doubt on a potentially dangerous play while battling the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens signal caller appeared to get taken down illegally in the first half of action.
Refs, however, refused to throw a flag! The no call led to controversy amongst NFL viewers.
Jackson scrambled away from the Commanders defense while trying to break a 3-3 tie. As he made his way towards the sidelines with the ball, Dante Fowler Jr. grabbed the quarterback by the back of his jersey and proceeded to drop his weight while making the tackle.
The play appeared to be a classic example of a “hip-drop takedown.” Officials didn’t see it the same way!
No flag was thrown on the play, which would later be reviewed for a potential horse collar tackle. The elements of that particular rule didn’t apply, but those in the broadcast booth believed it warranted the hip-drop penalty.
“I thought it did meet the elements of being a hip drop tackle,” said former NFL official Gene Steratore. “You can clearly see the hand below Jackson’s nameplate [ruling out a horse collar], but I think Fowler grabs low around that waist area, even though it’s the shirt, then he takes his weight and removes his weight and falls back.”
This was not called a hip drop tackle on the Commanders on Lamar Jackson pic.twitter.com/GwqdgMX1qy
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) October 13, 2024
Lamar Jackson, luckily, avoided injury in his landing before proceeding to put his team up 10-3 in the ballgame.
Player, and particularly quarterback, safety has been top of mind for some time in the NFL. We’ve seen flags thrown for much less when it comes to hits on the passer.
In this case, the tackle wouldn’t result in the injury of one of the league’s top playmakers. That still doesn’t mean it didn’t deserve a flag.