One of the more controversial calls during Week 18 in the NFL was an unnecessary roughness penalty against New England Patriots running back Brandon Bolden.
On 4th-and-three, Miami Dolphins punter Michael Palardy attempted a fake and slid down just short of the first down in front of Bolden. It appeared that Bolden had helmet-to-helmet contact in real time, but he only made slight contact with his shoulder pad.
The officials stuck with their call on the field and the Dolphins finished that drive with a field goal, putting them up 17-0 in the first quarter. Miami ended up winning the game with a score of 33-24.
Here’s the Brandon Bolden play that drew the unnecessary roughness penalty. Makes slight contact with Palardy’s shoulder pad as the punter slides. pic.twitter.com/8NQpkUcTAw
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) January 9, 2022
Following the game, Bolden spoke about the play and was very humble in his reaction.
“I went in there, and I was trying to get the ball off of him,” Bolden said. “But I did not touch him at all. That’s just how it goes sometimes — ball don’t bounce your way every time. They call what they call.”
He was then asked if these type of plays should be reviewable.
“In a perfect world, yeah,” he said. “But, you know, that’s not what happened. So, we just gotta play the game of football as it’s being called. We just didn’t get that one.”
The Patriots now await their opponent in the first round of the playoffs.
