Kirk Cousins Takes Shot to Chin, Refs Completely Blow Helmet-to-Helmet Call

Sunday was a difficult day for Washington Redskins quarterbacks.

Robert Griffin III was rocked, rammed and flattened into a human crepe before sitting out the final minutes of the game. It was a nasty helmet-to-chin hit on Kirk Cousins, however, that had football fans grabbing pitchforks and lighting torches.

The perpetrator was Wesley Woodyard, who led with the crown of his helmet and tattooed the backup quarterback in the chinstrap after Cousins took over for RG3 in the fourth quarter.

The molar-rattling hit was spotted by Rick Chandler of SportsGrid.com, and a .GIF of it was created by @BuzzFeedSports.

As you can see, this is a textbook example of the kind of hits the NFL’s helmet-to-helmet rules are attempting to prevent. If there were an NFL-sanctioned “Illegal Hits: Tackling With Your Forehead” video, this hit would be played on a loop.

Many fans don’t like the increased hamstringing of defensive players via illegal hits, but if you’re going to have helmet-to-helmet rules, at least call the blatant ones.

No penalty flag was thrown, however, causing everyone, everywhere to throw their hands up in a chorus of “What is going on here?”

While the play should’ve been flagged, it wasn’t as if a penalty would’ve changed the outcome.

After entering the game in the fourth quarter for a hobbled RG3, Cousins threw two interceptions—one of them a pick-six to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who high-stepped into the end zone from about 70 yards out. 

To his credit, Cousins got up and hustled after the play. Rodgers-Cromartie, on the other hand, proved he can outrun a backup quarterback when given a 20-yard head start.

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