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Referee Jerome Boger defends controversial roughing the passer penalty
NFL referee Jerome Boger (23) makes a call during the first quarter of an NFL football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Referee Jerome Boger defends controversial roughing the passer penalty on Falcons

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports  |  By Larry Brown  |  Last updated 10/9/22

Referee Jerome Boger did his best to explain after the Falcons-Buccaneers game on Sunday his reasoning for calling a controversial roughing the passer penalty.

The officiating crew called Grady Jarrett for roughing Tom Brady on a huge sack on a 3rd-down play late in the game. The penalty call was made even though Jarrett’s tackle seemed completely fine ( video here). The call helped the Bucs maintain possession and eventually run out the clock on a 21-15 win.

“What I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground. That is what I was making my decision based upon,” Boger told a reporter after the game.

Brady likely knows he and his team got away with one on that call. He more or less played dumb when asked about the penalty after the game.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was furious when the call was made during the game. But after the game, he tried to avoid the subject.

Boger’s crew also called a controversial roughing the passer penalty in the Bills-Ravens game last week.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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