Illegal formation penalties take center stage in Ravens vs Chiefs Opener: What this signals for the 2024 Season

The 2024 National Football League NFL season began on Thursday, 6th September with Kansas City Chiefs defeating Baltimore Ravens by 27-20. The main focus of the match was offensive-line penalties.

On their opening drive, the Ravens struggled and were handed three illegal formation penalties which included four infractions by Ronnie Stanley in the first half alone.

Sudden use of flags for illegal formation & what it means for the rest of the season?

To start with, the NFL typically highlights a specific officiating focus each season. In the past, this has included initiatives like testing pass-interference replay. According to Football Zebras, this year’s emphasis is on tightening the enforcement of illegal formation penalties.

The infraction occurs when a team fails to align with seven players on the line of scrimmage at the start of an offensive play. Offensive tackles are generally allowed to line up slightly off the line as long as their helmet is not behind the centre's waist. However, this rule has become a grey area in recent years.

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A notable example from Week 1 of last season was Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who was frequently and "egregiously off" the line against the Detroit Lions, leading to multiple penalties and a surge of social-media criticism.

What Football Zebras reported?

"The formation fouls were reviewed with teams extensively before, during, and after training camps by the officiating department. The bowing of the linemen is an advantage in pass rush situations, and the NFL's Competition Committee said it had to be shut down."

What Ronnie Stanley said post-match?

The left tackle still believes that the referees unfairly targeted the Baltimore's in their defeat against the Chiefs. After the thumping win, he told the reporters and said, "whatever calls they made, it's their decision."

The Raven's head coach Jon Harbaugh after the match said, "I'll challenge them to call it the same way they called it tonight the whole season. Hopefully, they'll be consistent."

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