Aaron Rodgers just achieved a rare feat. He received a penalty for unnecessary roughness after a late hit out of bounds.
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The surprising moment occurred during the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Bills. He targeted Allen Lazard on third down. He needed 19 yards to gain the first down, but cornerback Christian Benford intercepted the pass.
Benford returned the interception to his own 49-yard line before two Jets players forced him out of bounds. One of these players was Rodgers, who clearly shoved Benford after he had crossed the boundary. This shove drew a foul.
Jim Nantz and Tony Romo spent several moments discussing the flag on the play. Romo guessed that it was for a block in the back after the interception. He did not expect the penalty to be issued to the quarterback of the New York Jets.
QB called for unnecessary roughness???
Aaron Rodgers intercepted and then gets flagged for a personal foul on a late hit. pic.twitter.com/mPGuv7o1Km
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 29, 2024
The penalty is rare, which the official showed as he was making the announcement. Clete Blakeman had to take a moment after saying "personal foul, unnecessary roughness" so that he could laugh. He then announced that the penalty was on Rodgers.
"He's like, 'I've never called a late hit on the quarterback the opposite way,'" Romo said after the bizarre in-game moment. "Unnecessary roughness. This quarterback beats you up."
This penalty was only the latest moment in a difficult stretch for Rodgers. He was sacked by a Bills defender on one play. He then threw the interception and received the 15-yard penalty. The Jets were also winless at the time.
The afternoon did not improve for Rodgers and the Jets. They were losing 12-0 at the time of Rodgers' penalty. The score reached 40-0 midway through the fourth quarter. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had three total touchdowns while running back James Cook had another.
The rest of the points came from a Tyler Bass field goal and a safety. AJ Espenesa sacked Rodgers in the end zone to add two points to the Bills' total.
