NFL tweaks roughing the passer in hopes of fewer penalties in 2022

The NFL is once again tweaking the league’s roughing the passer rules. However, this time it should result in fewer penalties.

In 2021 there were a record-breaking 154 roughing the passer penalties called, resulting in 2003 yards lost. That number is up from 127 roughing the passer penalties in 2020. These penalties began to shoot up after the 2018 tweaking of the rule, which prohibited players from landing on the quarterback with their full body weight.

Before the 2018 rule change, the highest amount of roughing the passer calls had come in 2017, when there were 107 total penalties for the offense.

With this years re-examining of the rule, the NFL is now going to take into account incidental contact to the quarterback. Incidental contact with the arms to a quarterback’s head and neck area while attempting to block a pass will no longer be called as a penalty and defenders who unintentionally hit a players head and neck or lower legs will no longer be penalized.

The rule will also now allow players to make a play on the quarterback’s legs if they are on the ground, an action that was previously prohibited.

This rule change will hopefully get rid of some of the head-scratching calls that make fans wonder if football is even a contact sport anymore. Time will tell if the change makes a considerable difference or not.