From the moment I saw the Rams’ Mark Barron slam into the knee of Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger I’ve thought the same thing. “It wasn’t dirty, but it was deserving of a flag.” Now that I’ve gone through the usual stages of such an injury like anger and acceptance, I still feel the same way and even Roethlisberger himself stated this was how he saw it too.
Barron isn’t a dirty player and it wasn’t a dirty play but if you look at the NFL Rulebook you’ll find this;
“A rushing defender is prohibited from forcibly hitting in the knee area or below a passer who has one or both feet on the ground, even if the initial contact is above the knee.