Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor was a focal point of the NFL’s regular-season opener when he repeatedly lined up behind the line of scrimmage but was not flagged for an illegal formation penalty. In two weeks since then, however, Taylor has been flagged so often that Reid believes the officials are singling him out and flagging him for something other offensive tackles do just as much.
“They have an eye on him,” Reid said of the officials’ focus on Taylor. “It all started on the Thursday night game. You look around the league, and it’s just not consistent right now. That’s the important thing.”
Reid felt that the two penalties Taylor picked up in Sunday’s win over the Bears were unfair, and after watching the film, Reid said on Monday that he feels strongly that the rule isn’t being applied to everyone.
“Now that I’ve had a chance to look at it, I’ve even doubled down more on what I said yesterday,” Reid said. “They’ve got an eye on him. They better keep an eye on everybody else too. It’s to the point of being ridiculous. They got their point proved now out there to the world, so let’s make sure we’re staying consistent.”
Almost everything went right for the Chiefs against the Bears, but those illegal formation calls are the one thing Reid wants to see cleaned up. And he thinks it’s the league’s officiating department as much as his own team that has some work to do on that call.