'Clueless!': Falcons DT Grady Jarrett Speaks on Tom Brady Penalty, Kick for First Time
The biggest storyline out of the Atlanta Falcons' 21-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday was the controversial roughing the passer penalty called on Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
On 3rd-and-5 with three minutes to play, Jarrett performed what appeared to be a routine sack on Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady - but head referee Jerome Boger disagreed, later stating that Jarrett "unnecessarily (threw) him to the ground."
After the game, Jarrett opted not to speak with reporters, citing that he was too emotional to properly convey his thoughts on the penalty. However, making his weekly appearance on the 680 The Fan radio station in Atlanta, Jarrett unloaded on the call, starting with the fact that he is "still kind of left clueless" as to what he could've done differently.
But for Jarrett, the frustrating penalty was only compounded by the fact that it took away an opportunity for his team to go win the game.
"The thing that hurt me the most was my team not being allowed to have the opportunity to go do what we need to do," said Jarrett. "Nobody knows if we go out there and get a touchdown; I'm not saying that lost us the game. I'm saying all we wanted was an opportunity that we, as a whole team, staff and organization earned in that moment. That's unfortunate that it had to go down like that."
Lost in the immediate aftermath of the play was an apparent kick by Brady as Jarrett was standing up. Perhaps most concerning about the play is that a similar incident happened earlier in the game, according to Jarrett, who alerted the referees - but when the game was on the line, Boger's crew failed to notice.
"'Look, you see him now. Let's clean it up,'" Jarrett told the officials earlier on. "And then it happened again at the end of the game. I'm like, so we going to let this slide?"
Evidently, the referees did let it slide - and penalized Jarrett instead.
The outrage surrounding the penalty was only further brought to life on Monday Night Football, when Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones performed a seemingly routine sack on Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, forcing a fumble in the process - but Jones was called for the same roughing the passer penalty as Jarrett.
Jarrett touched on the Jones incident and took a big-picture approach to the topic, noting how much calls like those two can affect individual's lives. In the interview, Jarrett also advocated for the ability to review roughing the passer, which the NFL will reportedly consider after this season.
"I did see Chris' sack last night, and that was questionable as well," Jarrett said. "All these other things that we can review, I'm not saying that it cost us the game, but it cost us an opportunity to win the game and if it's costing people games, it's going to cost people livelihoods. Going to cost people's opportunities. You never know who is going to go down and make a crazy play."
While Jarrett and the Falcons had no control over Boger's decision, the team did have a heavy say in trailing 21-0 through three quarters. Still, the storming comeback that put Atlanta in position to have a chance at the victory more than deserved one final drive.
In the end, that drive never came, as the controversial penalty on Jarrett (which was preceded by another questionable flag on corner A.J. Terrell) all but put an end to the game.
Jarrett and the Falcons, now with last week firmly in the rearview mirror, have their sights set on a home matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
Get your HOTlanta Falcons game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Falcons? Click Here.
Follow Falcon Report on Twitter.
