GLENDALE, Ariz. — Trailing 16-3 in the third quarter at State Farm Stadium, the Patriots defense believed they’d delivered a game-changing turnover.
With Anfernee Jennings and Keion White converging on Kyler Murray as he fled the pocket, the Cardinals quarterback shot-putted a pass into the arms of cornerback Jonathan Jones, who secured the interception at Arizona’s 18-yard line. The celebration was short-lived for New England’s defense though, as Jennings was flagged for roughing the passer and the pick was taken off the board.
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As Murray opted to throw the ball just short of the line of scrimmage, Jennings had already committed to a hit. The Cardinals quarterback ducked, Jennings made glancing contact with his helmet, and the penalty flag came out. White hit Murray from behind at the same time and the 5-foot-10 quarterback stayed down after the hit.
“I really thought it shouldn’t have been a penalty,” Jennings said. “But that’s the rule and they flagged me for it. Costly because we got an interception. It could have been a big change in momentum.”
In a pool report after the game, referee Ron Tobert explained that the penalty was called because the umpire believed Jennings had made forcible contact to Murray’s head. Torbert told PFWA representative Mike Reiss that neither Murray ducking his head nor fleeing the pocket as a runner impacts the decision to throw a flag in that scenario.
“This does not impact the protection that he gets from forcible hits to the helmet,” Torbert said. “Although he is scrambling and working the pocket, he still gets the same protection from forcible hits to the helmet that he would if he were standing in the pocket.”
After the penalty, Murray left the field where he went into the blue medical tent where he likely underwent a concussion test. The quarterback missed three snaps before returning to the game.
However, Jennings didn’t believe he’d made forcible contact to Murray’s head.
“No I didn’t,” the edge rusher said. “I tried to attack the ball. He’s kind of a smaller quarterback so we’ve just gotta do a better job (adjusting) the strike zone. That penalty kinda cost us. Got an interception. So I’ve gotta do a better job.”
White said he was unsure who the flag had been thrown on at first. He felt for Jennings and said it’s “pretty challenging” to avoid a penalty in that circumstance.
“We’re trying to contain the quarterback,” White said. “I’m just trying to keep him in the pocket… I just hit him. I don’t know, it was a pretty routine play to me.”
Though Jones had his interception taken off the board, he said there were still plenty of other factors in New England’s 30-17 loss.
“He’s flying around playing. It’s a tough play, a bang-bang play. We still got off the field,” Jones said, referring to a punt later in the drive. “There’s a lot of other plays we have to make as a team. We just haven’t done it.”
