In the Cincinnati Bengals Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was tackled in the fourth quarter and seemed to have an issue with the way he was brought down.
He screamed at the referee who he thought should have made the call for a hip-drop tackle – a rule that was put into place over this past offseason – and received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that made it tougher for the Bengals to secure a first down late.
Former Bengal and now Houston Texan Joe Mixon had a similar thing happen to him over the weekend with no flag thrown a play that he was injured on, and he let his feelings on it be known on Twitter after the game.
“The NFL and NFLPA made it a rule and an emphasis for a reason,” Mixon wrote on Twitter. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”
Mixon did return to the game, but only had one carry on seven snaps for the rest of the game.
He was told by the referees that the play did not violate the ban when he asked why there was no flag. There will still be fines for Week 2 announced over the weekend and T.J. Edwards, Mixon’s tackler, could still be fined for the tackle, so the NFL could still change its tune on the call. The same could happen for Chase’s, a play which luckily didn’t injure him.
When I got up I asked the ref where is the flag that was a hip tackle. & his reply was no it wasn’t 🤦🏽♂️ https://t.co/A5fWjguzGH
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) September 16, 2024