NFL Fans Blast Refs Over Brutal Roughing-the-Passer Call on Denver’s Baron Browning

Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson took a huge hit, but many fans didn't think it deserved a penalty flag.

Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson was knocked out of action on Sunday against the Broncos after a huge hit delivered by Denver defender Baron Browning.

With Cleveland pinned back against its own end zone, Thompson-Robinson scrambled outside the pocket with hopes of making a play. Just as he got the ball out of his hands, Browning met him with an absolutely brutal hit, putting his shoulder right in the numbers of the Cleveland QB.

The ball fell incomplete and the Browns should have been facing fourth-and-12, but a roughing the passer penalty was called on the hit, giving Cleveland a fresh set of downs.

Roughing the passer called here on the Broncos. Do you agree with the call? #CLEvsDEN pic.twitter.com/AG34OezQHp

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) November 26, 2023

Thompson-Robinson was taken out of the game and replaced by P.J. Walker.

While Browning's hit was a big one, it looked pretty legal in the eyes of many fans. Browning doesn't go for the head, or arrive way late after Thompson-Robinson had gotten the throw off.

Fans on social media shared their distaste for the penalty flag.

This hit on Dorian Thompson-Robinson was called unnecessary roughness.

We’ve completely lost what it means to play football. pic.twitter.com/RbMLjuhdl3

— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) November 26, 2023

Is Baron Browning supposed to play flag football? pic.twitter.com/6rTWVbbUyL

— Eli Hershkovich (@EliHershkovich) November 26, 2023

Man that was such a bad call on Browning.

Hit with the shoulder, feet on the ground, eyes up, head up… TEXTBOOK

Bring out the pillowcases…

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) November 26, 2023

COME ON… That flag was thrown a LIFETIME after Baron Browning made that hit..

Yes, that was a HUGE hit - but it looked like a clean hit…

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) November 26, 2023

I am all about protecting players but my goodness. Broncos Browning simply a GREAT hit leading with the shoulder and they throw a flag. Infuriating if I am a defensive player at this point.

— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) November 26, 2023

this was a TEXTBOOK play from Baron Browning.

-led with shoulder ✅
-hit DTR in chest ✅
-didn’t land on him ✅

A flag was thrown for roughing the passer 😹pic.twitter.com/bcoxQsHezN

— Prop Geek Zeke📚 (@PropGeekZeke) November 26, 2023

Still, there were others that argued that Browning absolutely deserved the penalty flag he received after the hit.

Barron Browning left his feet and went up under DTR's chin. That's a penalty every time, like it or not.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 26, 2023

This. I don't know how there's a question. You can't launch into a qb in today's NFL. https://t.co/h6e98ZJg6J

— Ben Flanagan (@SigFlanagan) November 26, 2023

It wasn’t even close. Everyone thinking it was a clean, hard hit is nuts. https://t.co/BfXlXYeJ6x

— TCB (@TenCentBeers) November 26, 2023

By the book, Thompson-Robinson is considered a defenseless player just after throwing a pass, and defenders cannot launch into a defenseless player.

Per the NFL rulebook:

"It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body."

Whether you agree or disagree with the ruling, the situation settled itself rather quickly, as the Browns fumbled the ball back to the Broncos just two plays later.