What Patriots Were Told About Controversial Mack Wilson Penalty

While perhaps not as glaringly as the Atlanta Falcons or Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots too were penalized by an iffy roughing-the-passer penalty during Week 5.

Linebacker Mack Wilson earned a soft penalty while “hitting” Jared Goff during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions. The top of Wilson’s helmet collided with the bottom of Goff’s, but you could argue the contact only happened because Goff left his feet and slid down onto Wilson.

Nevertheless, by the letter of the law, the officials got the call right. Patriots defensive line coach DaMarcus Covington reinforced that point Tuesday when asked whether coaches got an explanation for the penalty.

“Yeah, they talked about hitting the helmet, and we’re not allowed to hit the helmet,” Covington said. “So, the rules are what they are, and that’s why we try to play within the rules and try to teach our guys the rules of the game. And so, therefore, we don’t make (the rules), we can’t do anything about it. And we just play to the rules of it.”

Other Patriots coaches made similar points Tuesday while talking about the controversy surrounding roughing-the-passer penalties. New England emphasizes teaching its players how to play to the rules as they are called.

That said, in his own way, linebackers coach Steven Belichick made his real feelings on the matter perfectly clear.

“I’m a defensive guy, so I think you know where I stand on those.”