During Sunday’s game against the Eagles, Washington lost 30 yards of field position on a pair of unnecessary roughness penalties called against defensive back Trent Robinson.
According to the NFL (and as Washington safety Dashon Goldson suggested during a recent appearance on PFT Live), Robinson was fined for neither hit.
The first foul, arising from a hit on Philadelphia receiver Jordan Matthews in the third quarter, appeared to be a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. The second foul, occurring on the first play of the fourth quarter, happened when Eagles tight end Zach Ertz caught a past and lowered his head into Robinson’s chest.
The lack of fines suggests that the flags were thrown in error, which is more evidence that these fouls should be subject to replay review. With 15 yards given to the offense whenever one of these penalties is called, the defense should have a way to obtain a more deliberate review of what often occurs on a bang-bang basis.
