Crosby was called for a roughing the pass penalty on Joe Burrow late in the first half.
It’s an unwritten rule for offensive linemen to confront a defensive player that hits their quarterback hard. On Sunday, Raiders defensive end Max Crosby hit Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hard late in the first half. The play resulted in a roughing the passer penalty, which the Bengals took advantage of with a touchdown to go up 17-10 at halftime. They never trailed the rest of the game in a 41-24 win.
There was conversation on Twitter as to why none of the Bengals offensive linemen went after Crosby after his hard hit on the Bengals franchise quarterback. Bengals center Ted Karras addressed that after the game.
“That’s one of my regrets from the game,” center and team captain Ted Karras said. “We probably should’ve done a little more of a scene. But really, we were just trying to make sure Joe was OK, and then Joe popped up and was smiling.
“After it was over, everybody was like ‘OK, it’s all right,’” Karras added. “But I’m sure we’ll probably take a little heat on Twitter for it.”
Crosby had an unabated path to Burrow on the play by being offsides, which was one of two penalties he committed on the play. His roughing the passer was the other penalty, which happened in large part because referee Brad Rogers didn’t blow his whistle when Crosby jumped early.
Burrow said after the game he didn’t have an issue with his offensive linemen not confronting Crosby, where a potential penalty could have negated Crosby’s penalties.
The Bengals’ offensive line only gave up one sack on Sunday in what was a solid performance in the 41-24 win.
Burrow was 27-of-39 for 251 yards and five touchdowns on Sunday, three of those touchdowns finding the hands of tight ends Drew Sample and Mike Gesicki. It was his second game with five touchdown passes this season. All other quarterbacks in the NFL this season have combined for just one such game.
Ironically, that other quarterback is Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Burrow and the Bengals head to Baltimore to take on Jackson and the Ravens Thursday night in a crucial AFC North game.
