3 biggest winners and losers of Thursday Night Football: Gutsy Will Levis shines in loss

In recent years, roughing the passer penalties have become more controversial as the NFL has made the basic call more rigid and favorable toward the offense. We saw not one but two examples of this on Thursday night.

First, the Steelers’ T.J. Watt was penalized for a routine form tackle on Levis because he used his body weight. (Which still doesn’t make sense.) Then, Titans’ defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons “followed through” while hitting Kenny Pickett and was also called for roughing. While I understand that these rule qualifications are for player safety, I’m genuinely unsure how grown men can break the laws of physics when making regular hits:

The latest roughing the passer penalty is against the Titans after taking down Steelers QB Kenny Pickett.

Jeffery Simmons could not believe the call. 🏈🦓👮‍♂️ https://t.co/boBjNO4X4M pic.twitter.com/fYK0HeK8Az

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 3, 2023

As much as it sucks to watch these kinds of penalties sometimes derail games, I fear this is just something we’re going to have to live with as football fans.