Dolphins-Chargers officials stir anger with questionable roughing call after Jaelan Phillips sacks Justin Herbert

Edward Sutelan

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Dolphins-Chargers officials stir anger with questionable roughing call after Jaelan Phillips sacks Justin Herbert image

Are quarterbacks allowed to be sacked? 

NFL viewers are left again asking the question after Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips was flagged for a dubious, at best, roughing the passer penalty after sacking Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in the third quarter on "Sunday Night Football."

See if you can spot the penalty.

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The NBC booth was left without much of an explanation. Rules analyst Terry McAulay said the officials must have decided that Phillips put all of his weight on Herbert when he was bringing the quarterback to the ground, but he still disagreed with the penalty call.

Here's the rule to which McAulay was referring: 

The defender is prohibited from landing on the QB with all or most of his body weight, even during a normal tackle.

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The NBC booth said that as Phillips was falling to the ground with Herbert, it appeared he stretched his arms toward the ground to prevent himself from putting all his weight on the Chargers signal-caller.

Had the sack stood, the Chargers would have been faced with a fourth-and-19 from their 8. Instead, the 15-yard penalty gave Los Angeles a first down at its 33, though the Chargers would eventually be forced to punt.

This was just the latest questionable roughing the passer call this season, with Falcons lineman Grady Jarrett's sack of Buccaneers QB Tom Brady in Week 5 perhaps the most notable controversial one.

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"Sunday Night Football" viewers, including some big NFL names, understandably were confused about the ruling.

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.