Watch CBS News

Officials Miss Egregious Facemask Penalty On Rams' Johnson Grabbing Patriots' Blount

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Jerome Boger's officiating crew is going to have some tough questions to answer from their boss this week.

The crew missed an obvious and blatant grabbing of the facemask by Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, a mistake that was particularly egregious considering the offense was committed on the ball carrier, LeGarrette Blount.

Blount had just run for six yards on a fourth-and-1 before getting tackled by Johnson near the Rams' sideline. Johnson, lying on his back, reached up and grabbed Blount's facemask, violently yanking the running back's head toward the ground.

Despite this taking place directly in front of head linesman Ed Camp, no penalty was called on the play.

Certainly, facemasks are often the most obvious and easy-to-see penalties committed on a football field. And when it involves the man with the ball, whom most everyone is looking at, it becomes even more difficult for an official to not see the offense. In this instance, it will be interesting to see if head of officiating Dean Blandino has anything to say about such a missed call, especially in a time when the NFL is pushing the idea of "player safety." Considering this penalty was committed by a defensive player being coached by Gregg Williams, a man who was once suspended indefinitely for running what the NFL determined to be a bounty program, it should receive added attention.

The missed call joins the failure of an officiating crew to see an obvious facemask penalty committed by Pittsburgh's William Gay on Dallas' Cole Beasley earlier this season. That game was officiated by Clete Blakeman's crew. Sunday's missed penalty also comes just three days after a game ended controversially in Minnesota, when Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford was hit in the head while throwing a potential game-tying pass on a two-point conversion attempt.

Blount did not respond at all to the play, instead popping to his feet and embracing his former coach, Jeff Fisher, on the sideline.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.