NFL admits error on Garrett's roughing the passer penalty

NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron admitted Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was incorrectly penalized for roughing the passer during the second quarter of Sunday's 21-21 tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Garrett brought Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the ground and was flagged. One play later, Steelers running back James Conner punched in a touchdown.

Riveron noted that Garrett made an effort to not fall directly on Roethlisberger and should have avoided a penalty.

"The rule specifically says 'most, if not all, of your body weight,'" Riveron said to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. "So we want that player to make an effort. And the last three or four weeks, we have pulled extensive video to show the clubs exactly what we're talking about. ... Because the question we get all the time is, well, what do you want our players to do?"

"Well, they have to not put the weight on the quarterback. And this one yesterday showed, even though there is some body weight on Ben, this is not what we would consider contact that rises to the level of a foul."

Despite the penalty, Garrett had an outstanding game, recording six tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.

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