Did Patriots Catch Break With Penalty Surge In Chiefs-Ravens?

The NFL is steeped in tradition, and the opening game of each season is usually a pretty good indicator of that.

How so?

The defending Super Bowl champion almost always hosts the league’s kickoff game. It’s a time for that team to unveil its championship banner and celebrate with fans. It’s almost always played on a Thursday, having moved to that time slot originally in 2002. The NFL also likes to do this funny thing where referees are over-fixated on a particular rule and throw enough flags to both confuse and anger players, coaches and fans alike.

It’s tremendous!

The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs met for this season’s start, with that final tradition becoming the biggest story to come out of the game.

Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley was called for three illegal formation penalties and right tackle Patrick Mekari was called for one Thursday, as league officials told teams that the call would be a point of emphasis this season. The Chiefs were not called for any, despite the fact their right tackle, Jawaan Taylor, was the most penalized player in the entire NFL in 2023 and the person many believe the rule is being focused on for.

“The way it was going through the game, I really feel like they were trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley said, per team-provided video. “As far as I saw, they weren’t doing it on both sides of the ball. I know that I was lined up in good position a majority of those calls they made.”

How does this have anything to do with the Patriots?

Patriots offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor was flagged three times for illegal formation by referee Shawn Hochuli when the Patriots closed out the preseason against the Washington Commanders.

Hochuli, of course, got the Ravens-Chiefs assignment and was also the one who penalized Stanley.

It’s probably fair to say every team in the NFL that isn’t located in Baltimore caught a break with this new enforcement of a long-standing rule, as the rash of penalties is sure to have offensive tackles double and triple-checking themselves before every snap.

New England dealt with the same issue, yes, but at least they were made an example of during a preseason game.