Back to the NFL Newsfeed

Josh Allen and the NFL's Roughing the Passer Problem

Week 5 began with a roughing the passer penalty on the fifth play from scrimmage of the Jets-Falcons Kipper Express, well before most of America even had time to pour our second cup of coffee. Week 5 ended in the wee hours of Monday morning with a roughing the passer penalty that erased a Chiefs interception and extended the final Bills touchdown drive, long after most folks gave up and went to bed.

Both fouls adhered directly to the strict letter of the written roughing the passer rule but only tangentially to its spirit. Neither hit was particularly brutal or placed Matt Ryan or Josh Allen in any peril.