The 2024 NFL season began Thursday night, and it did so with as much fuss over offensive line penalties as it did high-scoring action from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens, in fact, couldn’t make it a single drive before pulling three different flags for an illegal formation, a violation committed by left tackle Ronnie Stanley four times in the first half alone.
Why the sudden onslaught of flags for illegal formation? And what does it mean for the rest of the season?
First thing’s first: The NFL often has a point of emphasis when it comes to officiating each year. Sometimes it tries a pass-interference repeat (remember that?). this year, according to Football Zebrasit struck against an illegal formation.
The offense indicates that a team did not properly align with seven players on the line of scrimmage at the start of an offensive play. Offensive tackles are usually allowed to line up “off” the line if their helmet is not behind the center’s waist, but this has been a gray area in recent years, especially in Week 1 of last season, when the Chiefs right tackle. Jawaan Taylor was several times and”far away” against the Detroit Lions, resulting in several flags and even more social-media criticism.
“The formation faults were reviewed with teams comprehensively before, during and after training camps by the official department,” Football Zebras reported on Thursday. “The bowing of the linemen is an advantage in pass rush situations, and the [NFL’s] Competition Commission said it had to be closed.”
Stanley, for what it’s worth, still believes the refs unfairly targeted the Ravens in the game against the Chiefs, telling reporters afterward that “whatever calls they made, it’s their decision” but that “it didn’t feel consistent with what was told” by the officials during the offseason.
“I’m going to challenge them to call it the same way they’ve been calling it tonight all season,” Ravens head coach Jon Harbaugh added. “Hopefully they will be consistent.”
As for what’s ahead, don’t expect illegal formation calls to die out immediately. Fans worried about a season-long penalty, however, needn’t be too worried. CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore noted last year, after Taylor’s Week 1 violations, that the first week of regular-season action tends to be a “wake-up call” for both players and staff. Up until that point, no one had really worked with full-speed NFL action from the year before, and so widespread violations tended to level off in subsequent weeks.
