Commanders LB fined—not flagged—on pivotal play vs. Detroit Lions

Commander LB Frankie Luvu was fined for his hit on Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff, but he should have been flagged for it, too.

Washington Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu was fined $16,883 for his hit on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

On the play, Goff overthrew Lions receiver Tim Patrick, right into the arm of Commanders safety Quan Martin. On Martin’s interception return—which went for a touchdown—Luvu found Goff and laid a ferocious hit to Goff’s helmet to knock him out of the play. Goff would miss the next series of plays, as he was evaluated for a concussion, although he did eventually clear protocol and return to the game.

Per the NFL, the fine was for roughing the passer with a hit to the head/neck area. No penalty was called on the play. If a penalty had been called, the interception would have stood, but Martin’s touchdown return would have been nullified and the Commanders would have gotten the ball 15 yards back from the spot of the foul—about the Lions’ 23-yard line.

Here is the relevant part of the rulebook regarding this hit:

(Rule 12, Article 11, Section E — I bolded the relevant parts)

Roughing the Passer

Section E:

A passer who is standing still or fading backward after the ball has left his hand is obviously out of the play and must not be unnecessarily contacted by an opponent through the end of the down or until the passer becomes a blocker, or a runner, or, in the event of a change of possession during the down, until he assumes a distinctly defensive position. However, at any time after the change of possession, it is a foul if:

(1) an opponent forcibly hits the quarterback’s head or neck area with his helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder

(2) if an opponent lowers his head and makes forcible contact with any part of his helmet against any part of the passer’s body. This provision does not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or the helmet in the course of a conventional block.

Watching the replay, it’s clear Luvu broke the rules of the first stipulation, as his helmet makes clear contact with Goff’s facemask/chin.

Luvu was fined again for a play that happened just a minute later. Luvu performed an illegal hip drop tackle on Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.

That also was not called a penalty on the field, but Luvu was fined another $16,883 for the tackle.

One Lions player was also fined during the game, and everyone pretty much saw it coming. Lions receiver Jameson Williams caught a whopping $25,325 fine for “obscene gestures” AKA humping the turf.