No flag. No fine.
Before we dive into anything, I want you to take a second and look at the image for this article once again…
Yes, that is a facemask, as Joe Burrow has his helmet ripped to the side during the Cincinnati Bengals’ win over the Dallas Cowboys.
No, there was not a flag thrown… And no, there was not a fine handed out either.
Fines have become a very consistent thing and the NFL has used those to crack down on some issues that may not be flagged during a game.
But, to no surprise, the NFL has looked away yet again after another hit on Joe Burrow went unpunished.
Burrow has become the least protected ‘superstar’ quarterback, and it is for reasons like these that opposing defenses have no concern about hitting him late each week.
As the NFL publicly weighs whether to make facemask penalties subject to expedited replay review, consider this:
There was no fine issued on this play involving #Bengals QB Joe Burrow last week.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 14, 2024
Although no fine was handed out by the NFL, the league has publicly announced that facemask penalties could be subject to expedited replay review… Interesting…
So, the NFL is looking to fix facemask calls, but no penalty or fine was handed out for the play that sparked that idea? Makes sense!
The NFL did hand out a fine to Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson after an obvious hip drop tackle on Tanner Hudson.
The NFL did fine #Cowboys S Donovan Wilson $16,883 for this unflagged hip-drop tackle in the same game. https://t.co/wGzRNEH4xj pic.twitter.com/VOGnmg2GQR
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 14, 2024
But the issue remains… No flag in game… No consistency from NFL officiating.
