2 weeks Ago By Larry Brown Sports
Former NFL star J.J. Watt offered a strong reaction to the referees missing a facemask penalty late in Thursday night’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
With the Vikings in need of a touchdown and two-point conversion near the end of regulation, the officials missed a blatant facemask foul committed by the Rams on QB Sam Darnold in the end zone, one which should have helped give the Vikings better field position as they tried to drive down the field for the game-tying score. Instead, the Rams got credit for a safety , which helped them seal the win. Fans couldn’t believe that the officials had missed the call and Watt made a sarcastic crack in response on social media.
“Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a ‘hip drop’ tackle in real time,” Watt wrote on X. Can’t see a facemask 3 feet in front of them, but we want refs to decide what is and isn’t a “hip drop” tackle in real time. — JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 25, 2024 It’s a great point by Watt.
It’s difficult for referees to enforce all the rules as it is. And the NFL recently banned the hip-drop tackle because of the injury risk they believe it presents. The problem, as Watt noted, is that it’s hard for the officials to recognize a hip-drop tackle in real time.
Watt previously complained when the hip-drop tackle rule was put into place because he felt it was one more way the league was diminishing defenses. The NFL could consider making a change so that facemask fouls are reviewable in the future . This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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