J.J. Watt, NFL world blast officials for letting Chiefs’ Jawaan Taylor get away with apparent false starts vs. Lions

By | September 7, 2023
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The Chiefs did a very good job of containing the Lions’ pass rush in the NFL season opener. However, it appeared that they had a lot of help in doing so on the right side of the offensive line.

The team’s right tackle, Jawaan Taylor, was given a lot of leeway by the officials throughout the evening. John Hussey’s crew seemed reluctant to call him for false starts or illegal formations throughout the contest.

For most of the game, Taylor was trying to time his first step up with Patrick Mahomes’ snap count. He was able to succeed in doing so on certain occasions, but often, it seemed like he got a slightly early start.

Taylor may have gained an advantage from that, but the bigger advantage may have come from where he was allowed to line up.

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As noted by NBC’s rules analyst Terry McAulay, Taylor was supposed to at least have his helmet in line with the center’s belt line to be considered on the line of scrimmage. Instead, he was often “not remotely close” to where he needed to be.

Taylor’s technique — and the officials’ decision to let it slide — was noticed by many in the NFL world. That included former Texans and Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt, who commended the offensive tackles for taking advantage of it but later noted that it had gotten “a little bit egregious.”

Watt’s take was certainly fair, but others on social media — including NFL fans and media analysts — were a bit less forgiving. Below are some of their reactions to Taylor’s jumps throughout the night.

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Of course, there was one benefit to Taylor’s uncalled infractions for the Lions. They could somewhat tell based on where Taylor lined up whether the Chiefs were planning to run the ball or pass it. When he was further back, it was a pass play; if he was right on the line, it tended to be a running play.

That had a big impact on the game when the Chiefs opted to run the ball on a third-and-1 with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Detroit was able to stop it.

But Taylor was finally whistled for a false start when it mattered most. It occurred on a fourth-and-20 with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter. That allowed the Lions, up one, to play a prevent defense and come up with a massive, game-winning stop.

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