The perception that the Chiefs get all the calls took a hit on Friday night, when tight end Travis Kelce took a literal hit to the head after a play — and when the Chargers player who threw it wasn’t thrown out of the game.
It happened in the third quarter, with L.A. leading, 13-6. The Chiefs were driving. As Kansas City running back Kareem Hunt picked up a first down on third and short, Kelce gave Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart a shove away from the action. Tart responded with an open-handed blow to Kelce’s head.
Tart drew a flag. One night after an abrupt (and appropriate) ejection of Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, an obvious question arose. Would Tart be ejected?
Eventually, YouTube rules analyst Terry McAulay chimed in with an explanation after speaking to the league: "[T]hey said because it was an open-hand contact to the head, that was not disqualifying action.” It became clear that the difference was that Tart didn’t throw a closed-fisted punch.
Which is fine. If the rulebook backs it up. It doesn’t appear to.
From Rule 12, Article 3, Section 1: “There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship. Such acts specifically include, among others: (a) Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made.”
The list of eight types of prohibited acts doesn’t expressly include an open-handed blow. Two words — “among others” — open the door for an open-handed strike to be flagged. Which it was.
So should Tart have been ejected? From the “penalty” portion of the rule: “If the action is flagrant and a game official sees the entire action, the player is also disqualified.”
The open-hand/closed-fist distinction simply isn’t in the rulebook. The only question when a player strikes an opponent is whether the action was flagrant.
That should have been the explanation. “Tart wasn’t ejected because the league office personnel responsible for disqualifications deemed it wasn’t flagrant.”
There’s only one small problem with this. It sure as hell looked flagrant.
So here’s the real question. Given the emphasis on sportsmanship and respect for the opponent, why didn’t Tart’s flagrant blow to Kelce’s head, open-handed or not, trigger an ejection?
The decision to let Tart stay in the game wasn’t immaterial to the outcome. Tart made a couple of key plays after the incident. Most significantly, he got a hand on a two-point pass attempt that, if completed, would have tied the game at 20.
If the rulebook were applied as written, Tart wouldn’t have made that play, because he wouldn’t have been playing.