19 February 2024 , 05:00
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J.J. Watt has said that holding penalties in the NFL should be less harsh. The legendary former defensive end thinks that if the penalty was only 5 yards instead of 10, referees would be fairer when they call it.
Watt talked about his idea on the Pat McAfee Show. He said: "I think the refs understand that a 10-yard penalty is a massive penalty in the NFL," And he added, "So I think if you made [it] a 5-yard penalty, I think it's going to be called much more fairly and much more realistically. Because it's not as crippling to the offense."
Some fans agree with Watt, but worry that games might get too slow if refs call more penalties. Others say that the NFL likes touchdowns because they are exciting, and too many holding penalties could stop teams from scoring.
One fan said: "Why not just tell officials to call the game correctly." Another person answered: "Or maybe the refs could just call it, when it's supposed to be called."
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Watt wants more holding calls because of what happened in Super Bowl 58. In that game, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, with a score of 25-22.
During the game, many people believed that the Chiefs' offensive linemen seemed to hold their opponents until Patrick Mahomes could get away. They would then let go, avoiding any penalties. Because this happened so often, Watt thinks that if the punishment was less severe, officials might be more likely to penalise offensive linemen.
Many of the NFL's top defensive players have said that there aren't enough holding calls during games. TJ Watt, J.J.'s brother, thinks that the league is against him. He pointed out that he only had one holding call against him as a pass rusher last season. Despite being an All-Pro EDGE rusher, he only drew five holding penalties while defending the run.
Some fans and experts felt there were missed holding calls in Super Bowl LVIII (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)Micah Parsons, an EDGE rusher for the Dallas Cowboys, also said that the league favours offenses too much. Parsons talked about how he needs more holding calls after going 38 quarters in a row without getting one.
"I definitely think there's a lot of biased things around the league and who they want to call things on and how they call and who they call it [on]," Parsons said. "I think [the NFL] should have a long conversation this offseason."
"The film is out there," he said. "It's something they need to look at. A lot of these calls should be [reviewable]. These flags are game-changing plays. But it's an offensive league. They want to keep as much points on the board as possible and as many drives alive as possible. It is what it is. At the end of the day, you have to still play."