Ja'Marr Chase's outburst was ignited by NFL's controversial new hip-drop tackle rule

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of Joe Burrow’s biggest plays during the dramatic showdown at Arrowhead Stadium didn’t show up on the stat sheet.  

He may have saved his star receiver from getting tossed from the game. 

The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback quickly stepped in as Ja’Marr Chase erupted early in the fourth quarter with an in-your-face protest of the officiating that drew a 15-yard penalty from referee Alex Kemp for unsportsmanlike conduct. Had Burrow not corralled Chase to usher him from the scene, it’s possible the receiver would have been ejected as he began to circle back to apparently give Kemp more feedback. 

“Just trying to de-escalate the situation,” Burrow said of his role in the exchange. 

The quarterback’s peacemaker move helped. Kemp said that Chase questioned whether he was brought down by an illegal hip-drop tackle on a play earlier on the drive before the penalty, and was told that the officials didn’t feel it was an illegal tackle. On the second-down play that led to penalty, replays showed that Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie grasped Chase’s facemask as he brought him to the turf. And the tackle might have also warranted a closer look as it related to the new hip-drop ban.  

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Asked by a pool reporter representing the Professional Football Writers of America about why Chase was flagged for misconduct, Kemp said: “It’s pretty clear-cut. It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official. That’s all it was. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat to you what he said, but there was no interpretation with the language that he used – just abusive language.” 

Burrow: “I’m not quite sure what was said.” 

And Bengals coach Zac Taylor was still short on pertinent facts. 

“I’m not in the middle of it,” Taylor said. “So, I couldn’t see everything that was said or done.” 

The pool reporter, Ben Baby of ESPN, asked Kemp to explain how it is determined that a player has crossed the line when protesting officiating matters. 

“The simple answer is, profanity used by grown men versus direct, personal abusive language toward a game official,” Kemp said. “That’s the line. When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen in pro football.”  

Chase wouldn’t comment on the incident to a group of reporters gathered at his locker, yet he acknowledged to USA TODAY Sports after the pack dispersed that he had issues with the apparent facemask and with what he suspected to be a hip-drop tackle. 

Was it the facemask or a hip-drop? 

“Either-or,” Chase said. 

When the NFL instituted the ban on the swivel hip-drop tackle during the spring as a safety measure, there was significant pushback from some players, coaches and even the NFL Players Association about how the technique would be officiated. The competition committee conceded there would be challenges with making judgements in real time, contending that it was more likely that warnings and fines would come after plays are reviewed during week. 

If Chase has a say (or, well, more of a say), his case begs for further review. 

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