Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travon Walker made a massive mistake in Week 5 when he slung Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills down on a dead play after jumping offsides. Just like that, a third-and-20 situation turned into a first down that gave the Texans offense life.
It was an easy call for officials to make and it set up Houston for its only touchdown of the game. Against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6, the Jaguars might have to worry about the not-so-easy calls.
Assigned to referee the AFC South matchup is Jerome Boger, the official responsible for the worst roughing the passer call so far this season.
refs called this roughing the passer on 3rd down and i genuinely do not know what Grady Jarrett could have done differently pic.twitter.com/VX6i0UpJiL
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 9, 2022
Making matters worse for the Jaguars is the fact that home teams typically fare well when Boger is the referee.
Uhhhh…when you factor in that awful Roughing the Passer penalty with Tom Brady, these are some wildly interesting nuggets about Jerome Boger.
From @SharpFootball: pic.twitter.com/TfV9cytvKl
— Adam Lefkoe (@AdamLefkoe) October 11, 2022
That could be a bad combo for a Jaguars team that didn’t have much difficulty getting to Matt Ryan, the NFL’s most sacked quarterback this season, back in Week 2. Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell isn’t too worried about it, though.
“You can’t pull them down, horsecollar him in the pocket, but there are certain ways you have to land on a quarterback or try not to land on a quarterback,” Caldwell said Thursday. “We’ve gone over that and they understand it. It’s tough for a defensive player, but that’s what we’ve got to do—abide by the rules.
“If it’s your quarterback, you want him to have as much protection as possible. If you’re going after the quarterback, you want to go get him. It’s interpretation by the referees, and it’s a tough job that they have to do. We have to understand what we can do, how we can help our team. Just teach them the rules, let them understand what they can and can’t do and go from there.”
The Jaguars haven’t been called for roughing the passer (Walker’s penalty was unnecessary roughness) since Dawuane Smoot hit Carson Wentz late in a Week 1 loss to the Washington Commanders.
