Walt Anderson: Under the current rules, officials were correct to penalize the Texans on Saturday

A pair of penalties against the Texans in Saturday’s 23-14 loss to the Chiefs drew a lot of scrutiny during and after the game, but the NFL’s head of officiating said both calls were correct under current rules.

Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson said on the NFL Network that there could be discussed on whether there was forced contact by Texas defensive end Will Anderson on what was ruled roughing in the first quarter of the game, but noted that the NFL rulebook calls for officials to throw a flag when there is doubt as to whether roughing has took place. Anderson also said that replay assist can help officials retrieve a flag if there is no helmet contact on a quarterback, but there was contact on that play.

The competition committee could revisit both of these things in the offseason.

“That’s the rule for this year,” Anderson said.

The Texans were also flagged for unnecessary roughness for a hit on Mahomes after a late slide, though two Texans defenders appeared to collide with each other while making accidental contact with Mahomes. Anderson said the replay shows the “hairline” of a Texans helmet hitting Mahomes when the quarterback is already on the ground and that the replay assistant cannot be used to adjust the call in that situation.