If you are a Travis Jones fan, there might be a good news coming out of the week 14 game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers won the game 27-22, but a penalty on the Ravens’ defensive lineman Travis Jones got the internet talking. Fans online defend that the penalty was wrong, and the NFL agrees! 

The NFL admitted that penalty was a mistake to Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "They told me — and they told me I had permission to state this — that it was a wrong call, and should not have been called," Harbaugh said in the post-game press conference. It came in the second quarter of the game with 10:39 remaining, the score sitting at 13-3. 

Jones made a hit on Steelers' long snapper, Christian Kuntz, on a field-goal attempt. For this, the game officals penalized him 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. It was crucial because instead of the Steelers settling for three points, the penalty gave them a first down. Then they scored a touchdown on the very next play, resulting in a four-point swing, making the score 17-3. 

It’s great that the NFL admitted the blunder, but it had already cost the Ravens four points. Plus, Referee Alex Moore defended the penalty. 

After the game, Moore explained that any contact with the snapper is unnecessary because officials consider him a defenseless player. He said Jones ran over the snapper and clarified that, “You cannot make any forcible contact to that player,” and that the officials felt the hit was unnecessary against a defenseless player. 

But Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9(b) says that defenseless players can be hit. The exception is that they can't be hit forcibly in the head or neck area. They can't be hit forcibly with an opponent's helmet. And they can't be on the wrong side of an illegal launch. Travis Jones did not do any of this. Though this was not the only thing, the Ravens' head coach sought clarification from the league. 

Ravens need some answers from the NFL

In the fourth quarter, Isaiah Likely appeared to catch a pass in the end zone, getting two feet down in bounds. However, after review, officials ruled that before he could complete a “third step,” the ball was knocked out by a defender, so the catch was deemed incomplete and the touchdown was overturned.

On another play, a pass from Aaron Rodgers was initially ruled an interception after being batted at the line. Upon review, officials determined Rodgers had caught his own pass and was down by contact, reversing the interception call. All these decsicions left the the Ravens' head coach confused by all these calls who ended up having a call with the league. 

Before talking about the Travis Jones penalty in the press conference, he said that the NFL was gracious enough to have a call with him, Eric, and Tony Mihalik, and he appreciated that. “It didn't clear anything up, it didn't make it any easier to understand, and either one of the two calls they're very, very hard to understand how they get overturned, but they did, and that's where it stands,” he continued. 

He said that he was not comfortable and needed more clarification, saying, “it's about as clear as mud right now.” What do you think about those calls? Let us know in the comments. 

Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Joyita Das