There isn’t much debate as to whether or not the Falcons got jobbed by the officials in the fourth quarter of their Week 5 loss in Tampa Bay. Fans and experts alike agree that no flag should have been thrown after Grady Jarrett’s third-down sack of Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
However, even if the NFL sends the team an official apology letter in the mail admitting its mistake, it won’t change the outcome. After the game, several Falcons players, including edge rusher Lorenzo Carter, gave their thoughts on the controversial roughing the passer penalty.
“It looked like football to me,” said Carter. “It looked like football, we just played aggressive. We just got to eliminate those penalties though.”
Carter also emphasized how important it is for the team to keep playing in those situations. On the third down prior to Jarrett’s penalty, Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell was called for defensive holding, which also extended the Buccaneers’ final drive.
It wasn’t as bad as the penalty on Jarrett, but it was still a pretty questionable call at a critical point in the game.
“It was third and seven, just trying to get off the field, and they called what they called — something I can’t control,” said a bummed out Terrell. “Just a next play mentality, we had another opportunity and put it in the refs hand again.”
While the team is trying not to dwell on officiating, the flags on Terrell and Jarrett were routine plays. Even play-by-play commentators were left dumbfounded by the calls.
Running back Caleb Huntley even noted that from his perspective, Jarrett’s sack on Tom Brady was routine and nothing extra.
“It was crazy because it was just a regular sack. There wasn’t anything extra on Grady’s part, but I guess the referee seen it the other way and had we got the ball, we probably wouldn’t be sitting in here sad,” said Huntley as he shook his head in frustration after the game.
As for Jarrett, he had remained mostly quiet about the call until addressing it during his weekly radio appearance.
“Just looking back on it, I’m still kind of left clueless on what I’m expected to do in that situation,” said Jarrett.
As bad as both fourth-quarter penalties were, the Falcons need to play better early on in games to avoid letting it come down to a bad call or two.
