The NFL has established a trend of making defenders’ jobs hard. They made illegal contact, horse collaring, and many other myriads of distinctions on when and where they are and are not allowed to hit an offensive player, and that doesn’t even include the list that is twice as long if that player happens to be a quarterback.
The NFL’s Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills says the league will have a “very active offseason conversation” about the “hip tackle” and how it causes injuries. If you are unfamiliar with a hip tackle here are a few examples from the playoffs:
Textbook high ankle sprain mechanism (hip drop tackle?