An atrocious Bills-Jets roughing the passer call on Aaron Rodgers left NFL fans disgusted

Roughing the passer continues to be the most controversial call in the NFL, and it reared its ugly head during the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets game on Monday Night Football.

Right after Bills defensive end AJ Epenesa cleanly sacked Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the referees still threw a roughing the passer call because of an “unnecessary second act.”

Epenesa’s body landed on Rodgers during the takedown, which triggered the flag and caused NFL fans across the globe to wince at what an absolutely terrible call it was.

There is not much a defensive lineman like Epenesa can do to avoid contact like that when they’re charging in for a sack, if only because gravity is going to do its thing no matter what.

The league rules protect the quarterback in this situation if the full body of the defender lands on him, which leaves us with lots of head-scratching and frustration. It really feels like the Bills got jobbed here, even if the call is defensible by the NFL’s overwrought rules.

Of course, the reactions to this maddening flag were not pretty.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.