BALTIMORE – Among the key plays on the Buffalo Bills' game-winning drive Sunday was a roughing the passer penalty against the Baltimore Ravens' Brandon Stephens.
The Bills had first-and-15 at the Ravens 41 with 2:05 remaining in the game. Allen attempted a short pass to the right to running back Devin Singletary.
Stephens, coming from Allen's right, appeared to hold up momentarily, and then made contact with Allen.
Referee Jerome Boger told a pool reporter after the game: "What I had was forcible contact in the head/neck area of the quarterback with the helmet."
Asked if he was confident about head/neck contact, Boger replied, “Yes.”
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore tweeted that he did not think a penalty was warranted on the play:
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This was a hard hit on Josh Allen in #BUFvsBAL, but the contact was neither late nor to the head/neck area. Allen did fall awkwardly which always adds an additional layer of difficulty for these plays, but IMO that did not warrant a flag for Roughing the Passer. pic.twitter.com/0Wu978qEQu
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) October 2, 2022
Asked about the penalty in his postgame news conference, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, "You have to hit him in the head or neck area for it to be a personal foul, I do know that."
After the penalty, Singletary was stopped for a one-yard loss. After the two-minute warning, Allen connected connected with Singletary for a 16-yard gain as the Bills' drive continued. Three plays later, Tyler Bass kicked the field goal for a 23-20 victory.
