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NFL Officials Refused To Protect Joe Burrow With Multiple Missed Roughing The Passer Calls

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Bengals QB Joe Burrow gets hit by a Ravens defender after throwing a pass.

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NFL refs missed numerous roughing the passer calls involving Joe Burrow on Thursday night during a game between the Bengals and Ravens. Some came in crucial moments of the action.

The officiating crew refused to protect the Cincinnati signal caller as he left the stadium bruised and battered in a 35-34 loss.

The NFL has made it its mission to prioritize the safety of its star players, most notably those at the quarterback position. You might not have known it had you watched the most recent matchup.

Joe Burrow was hit high, low, late, and everything in between. Only once did he get the benefit of a penalty flag.

That lone infraction came on the Bengals’ final drive after a completed pass to Ja’Marr Chase. On that same drive, he was hit twice in the head without a call.

The first came with the offense driving for a potential game-tying touchdown.

Despite the missed call, Cincinnati would find the endzone to make the score 35-34. Rather than go for the tie, the Bengals went for two and the win.

Again, Burrow was hit in the facemask. Again, no flag was thrown!

The NFL rule states that refs should throw a flag if a defender “uses hands, arms, or other parts of the body to hit the passer forcibly in the head or neck area.”

That certainly seemed to be the case, here!

The Bengals missed the two-point conversion to lose the game. The roughing the passer penalty wasn’t the only one missed on the play.

NFL refs refused to protect Joe Burrow.

Earlier in the matchup, the quarterback was walloped by a Baltimore defender after delivering a pass. While the hit seemed quite late, no penalty was called.

Joe Burrow takes as many, or more, hits than any passer in the NFL. It’s the referees’ job to ensure that those shots come within the rules of the game.

That didn’t seem to be the case on Thursday. We’ll see if there’s an added attention to these types of plays next week.