Peacock Analyst Todd Blackledge Confused By Soft Roughing-The-Passer Call In Packers-Eagles Game

Getty Image / Amy Lemus

Rules surrounding hitting the quarterback have changed quite considerably since Todd Blackledge played in the NFL from 1983-1989. The Penn State alum played when it was practically open season on the league’s quarterbacks.

But, he’s been around football enough as a commentator to know that things have changed significantly since, with quarterbacks protected degrees more than they used to be. Even with that knowledge, he was still stunned at one particular roughing-the-passer call in the Packers-Eagles game on Friday night.

The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles squared off in a battle of two NFC Playoff teams from a year ago in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It was the first NFL game ever played in South America, and the NFL decided to play their first one there in the biggest city in the Southern Hemisphere.

Early in the second half, Packers quarterback Jordan Love was pressured, threw an incompletion and was hit pretty innocuously. But, Eagles linebacker Zack Baun was flagged for roughing-the-passer.

As Blackledge says in the clip, why is it a flag? It wasn’t particularly late. It wasn’t particularly high, either. And, he didn’t launch at Jordan Love? So, why was it a penalty?

Nobody knows. NFL officiating was criticized heavily in the league’s first game this season, when the Chiefs beat the Ravens 27-20 on Thursday night. It doesn’t seem to be getting any better in game two.