NFL to Rule Rams Alleged Illegal Hits on Cam Newton Not Clear Fouls

The National Football League has determined that the Los Angeles Rams did not have illegal hits on Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in Week 9.

After a preliminary review, the NFL is set to rule that the Los Angeles Rams did not have illegal hits on Carolina Panthers quarterback, Cam Newton, on Sunday.

The hits in question came from linebacker Mark Barron and defensive lineman Aaron Donald, both of which are set to be ruled as not clear fouls, per ESPN’s Ed Werder:

#NFL preliminary review of 2 hits on #Panthers Cam Newton indicate neither Mark Barron hit or another by Aaron Donald clear foul, per source

— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) November 8, 2016

Was the NFL Right?

While Donald’s hit wasn’t a clear violation, the one laid on Newton by Barron is a different story. Barron appears to make helmet-to-helmet contact on Newton while he’s in the pocket, which would be a violation of the rules.

You can view a still of the Barron sack here. The Rams’ official Twitter account actually tweeted a Vine clip of the hit with a celebratory tweet; although the clip has been removed from the tweet and the link to the Vine page it was originally on says the clip has been removed.

It’s pretty surprising that the NFL rule that the hit was a foul, given all the attention focused on Newton getting a raw deal behind center. It’s one thing if Barron’s hit was close, however that simply isn’t the case based on the clip.

Along with poor officiating on Monday Night Football and everything else going wrong with league officiating, this just adds to the notion that the NFL is clueless in handling these situations. Something has got to give or else things will only continue to get worse.