NFL refs missed an easy helmet hit on Alvin Kamara. They need to do better

The NFL has taken steps to make the game safer, including implementing a new rule this offseason that penalizes helmet-to-helmet hits. But we’re still seeing referees miss easy calls that should flagged.

On Thursday night in Week 13, Saints running back Alvin Kamara took a brutal hit from Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith that left him stumbling as he tried to get off the ground.

These have been the type of hits that the league is trying to eliminate, but Smith wasn’t even flagged for launching himself into Kamara.

A 15-yard penalty would’ve given the Saints a fresh set of downs to work with in a three-point game in the fourth quarter. Instead, they punted and failed to score again, losing 13-10.

Kamara left the game briefly after the hit, but returned. Even though he was healthy enough to return, the play still should’ve been flagged for Kamara’s safety and Smith’s safety.

Smith was later fined $26,739 for the hit but is appealing it, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.

During the broadcast, Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira said it was obvious that hit should’ve been flagged, as did announcers Troy Aikman and Joe Buck:

Aikman: That’s a lead to the helmet, and there’s a call that should’ve been easy to make.

Buck: Mike Pereira, that should’ve been called.

Pereira: Yeah, we haven’t seen many called this year, but that’s a clear example of leading with the crown of the helmet.

Former referee and current CBS analyst Gene Steratore agreed with Pereira that hits like these need to be expunged from football.

According to Article 8 of the 2018 NFL rulebook, lowering the head to initiate contact is against the rules.

It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.

Note: The tackle box no longer exists once the ball leaves the tackle box.

Penalty: Loss of 15 yards. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down. The player may be disqualified.

As a whole, the NFL has only called these fouls eight times this year according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The Saints weren’t vocally upset about the hit after the game, for the most part. Alvin Kamara himself didn’t have much to say about the hit.

“Did one come out? It is what is. It doesn’t matter what I was expecting…Yeah, I’m cool. I came back out, didn’t I?”

Drew Brees said to “let the league deal with that” when he was referring to Smith’s hit on Kamara potentially being fined.

Head coach Sean Payton, who is on the NFL Competition Committee, gave the referees a little leeway with their mistake:

“I was involved in the process of the rule. Listen, those are hard to call as well. Really, it’s tough when the guys are moving around real fast. I haven’t seen it as cleanly as you guys have. Listen, we got beat. We got beat tonight and there will be a number of things we that we can point to but overall, we just didn’t do enough as a team.”

Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins had the strongest reaction after the game, via NOLA.com:

“Jaylon Smith’s head was down. He launched right into Kamara, hit him with the crown of his helmet,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “That’s above my pay grade to say what the league should and should not do, what officials should and should not do.

“But, I play football, and I know what a helmet-to-helmet is, and to me it was helmet to helmet.”

Kamara’s hit came just one week after Washington tight end Jordan Reed suffered his own devastating hit in their Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys — another hit that wasn’t flagged.

At this point in the game, Washington was trailing 31-20 on Dallas’ 13-yard line with just over one minute left of game time. The play occurred on third-and-3 — an automatic first down would’ve given them a chance to score a touchdown in the waning moments of the game. That hit looked even worse when you account for Reed’s extensive concussion history.

Washington head coach Jay Gruden was a bit more animated about Reed’s hit than the Saints were about Kamara’s hit. Via the Washington Post:

“It’s just frustrating because that’s a point of emphasis, so to speak,” Gruden said. “And when it’s that blatant in front of a lot of people in the middle of the field, you just wonder why that wasn’t called if we’re talking about protection of the players. It’s frustrating. I know Jordan was frustrated. He was going crazy. Unfortunately we just have to regroup and go on to the next play. You’re a tight end and you’re defenseless and you get hit in the head — that’s what we’re trying to take out of the game. Unfortunately, they missed that call.”

Like Gruden alluded to, the reason that those rules were made was to protect the players. Luckily, Kamara and Reed were OK; that still doesn’t justify the rule not being enforced. The natural brutality of football is unavoidable, but the NFL still needs to do a better job of taking care of its players.