CLEVELAND — Referee Shawn Hochuli and his crew did not see contact that warranted a penalty for roughing the passer on the hit that injured Steelers kicker Chris Boswell while attempting a fake field goal against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Boswell was hit just after he released the ball by Browns defensive tackle Jordan Elliott. Elliott hit Boswell with his head in Boswell’s chest, before his helmet rode up and hit Boswell’s facemask.
Hochuli clarified that Boswell is afford the protections of a passer on that type of play, but the crew just did not see enough contact to warrant a foul.
“We did not see any contact that rose to the level of a foul,” Hochuli said to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “It wasn’t late, and I said, we didn’t see contact that rose to the level of a foul.”
Hochuli also clarified that roughing the passer is not reviewable. CBS Sports NFL rules expert and former NFL official Gene Sterratore disagreed with the call, saying that a personal foul should have been called against Elliott.