The New Orleans Saints may have secured a win on Sunday, but they aren’t letting the officiating crew off the hook for a poorly called game. Several questionable penalties disrupted the flow throughout the afternoon, but none was more egregious than a phantom roughing the passer call against defensive end Carl Granderson.
Granderson beat the New York Giants’ left tackle off the edge, crashing down on rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart untouched and bringing him to the turf for a sack. He didn’t jump on Dart to emphasize the hit, nor was there any helmet-to-helmet contact. It was a clean play. Yet, the officials flagged him for roughing the passer, costing the Saints 15 yards.
“I saw a sack,” head coach Kellen Moore said when asked about the penalty after the game. He expressed his frustration at coaching his players to execute their assignments cleanly, only to have those efforts negated by questionable calls on the field.
Moore wasn’t alone in his criticism. Many fans and media members covering the game voiced their displeasure with referee Alan Eck and his crew for the questionable penalty. Had the call not been made, Granderson would be leading the NFL with 5.5 sacks. Instead, he is tied for third—a statistic that directly impacts his career and livelihood.
Here are some of the reactions from across the NFL landscape on social media:
https://saintswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/saints/2025/10/05/saints-jaxson-dart-carl-granderson-roughing-the-passer-penalty-reaction/86536450007/
