Lack of consistency in controversial Chargers penalty sparks outrage across the NFL

The Los Angeles Chargers dropped a close and ugly game against the Houston Texans in a preview of what the playoffs may bring. The Chargers lost this game on the merit of their own mistakes and yet still found themselves in a position to have a chance in the final minutes of the game

Fans, former players, members of the media, and even the NFL Network's own broadcast team found themselves frustrated with the officiating in this game. The frustration is and was not limited to calls that went against the Chargers. There were several questionable calls all game that went against both teams.

The pivotal calls that are most in question happened in the fourth quarter with the Chargers mounting a comeback. The first controversial call was a near sack on Texans quarterback CJ Stroud by the Chargers blitzing linebacker Daiyan Henley. The flag had every range of spectator frustrated and confused by the call.

Chargers flagged for roughing the passer to CJ Stroud pic.twitter.com/aJ193bLa9I
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) December 27, 2025

They gotta rewrite the body weight rule or figure out how to call it better. They’re asking defenders to defy the laws of physics on these plays
— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) December 27, 2025

The flag on Daiyan Henley did not lead to any meaningful change in the game other than extra time off of the clock in a tight game to start the fourth quarter following a Chargers touchdown. The most controversial call of the game came with under 3 minutes left in the game.

The most controversial call

The Texans received the ball with just over three and half minutes left in the game after the Chargers scored a touchdown but a missed extra point only pulled Los Angeles within four. The Chargers needed a defensive stop to get another possession and chance to come back.

The Texans got one first down before facing a third down with nine yards to go and under 3 minutes left in the game. The Chargers dialed up a perfect rush to force CJ Stroud to take a sack to keep the clock running. Cornerback Tarheeb Still was flagged for illegal contact and the Texans were given a free first down, essentially ending the game.

Such a ticky-tacky call in a big moment of the game. Hate it. pic.twitter.com/CdmFDaN94D
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2025

Why this call controversial

NFL referee Craig Wrolstad — Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The illegal contact penalty was by far the most talked about and controversial call of the game. According to nflpenalties.com the officiating crew Saturday, lead by Craig Wrolstad, had only called six illegal contact penalties all season through week 16. His crew called two on Saturday.

This year, in the NFL, it appears there was a renewed focus on the penalty as only 83 total flags were thrown leaguewide on illegal contact penalties in 2024. One week remains on the schedule, but there have been 137 flags thrown for illegal contact so far this year, the most since 2014 had 147.

The league overall has been calling the illegal contact penalty much more often this season but he crew officiating the Chargers game against the Texans had only called it six times before Saturday afternoon. The lack of consistency is frustrating to understand given the call against Tarheeb Still appears to have been called strictly.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk also wrote about the lack of consistency and the timing of that particular call.
"Some degree of technically illegal contact occurs all the time. It doesn’t get called all the time because, frankly, that would slow the game down to a crawl." Florio wrote, "That’s the real problem. By “letting them play” more often than not, with illegal contact called only sporadically or when blatant, it stands out (in a bad way) when the rule is strictly enforced — especially when a game is on the line."

Unfortunately, head coach Jim Harbaugh nor any of the Chargers players were asked about the officiating or any of the controversial calls during postgame interviews. The officials did not lose the game for the Chargers. Los Angeles did not capitalize when the opportunities were available and had several catastrophic blunders.

The penalty on Still will loom large as it felt like the officials applied a strict interpretation of the rule in a tight game at a critical moment.

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