The NFL changed the wording of the roughing the passer rule this year to emphasize penalties for defenders landing with their full body weight on top of quarterbacks.
We saw several of those calls in the preseason and many more in the first week of the regular season. The first of them came on the first Thursday night of the year when Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was penalized for landing on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles after hitting him in the midsection.
Like many defensive players, Jarrett found himself feeling like he’s being penalized for playing the game the right way.
“I agree with not pile driving the quarterback and not hitting the quarterback in the head. I agree with all that,” Jarrett said, via The Athletic. “But when it’s a form tackle, I don’t know what else you can do.”
Jarrett called life under the new rule “uncharted territory.” He also learned that it is expensive as PFT has confirmed with the league that Jarrett was fined $20,054 this week.