Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley voiced concerns about the officiating after his team’s 27-20 season-opening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.
Stanley was penalized for three of the Ravens’ four illegal formation calls and felt that the officials targeted him to set an example. He noted that the Chiefs were not called for similar violations, despite his belief that they were also at fault.
“The way it was going through the game, I really feel like they were trying to make an example and chose me to be the one to do that,” Stanley said after the game, according to team reporter Ryan Mink. “As far as I saw, they weren’t doing it on both sides of the ball. I know that I was lined up in good position a majority of those calls they made.”
The 30-year-old offensive lineman reported that officials instructed him to move closer to the line of scrimmage.
“They just kept saying, ‘You need to move up.’ I was like, ‘How much more do I need to move up?'” Stanley said. “It’s not my first year playing in this league. I know where to line up. I was lining up a lot ahead of what I usually do. I know my helmet was breaking the center’s butt.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh indicated that he will monitor how this penalty is enforced throughout the season.
“It’ll be interesting to see if they call it the same way the whole season,” Harbaugh said. “I’ll challenge them to call it the same way they called it tonight the whole season, so hopefully they’ll be consistent about that.”
Additionally, Ravens players expressed frustration with the officiating after Isaiah Likely’s touchdown with no time remaining was overturned following a replay review due to his foot being on the out-of-bounds line.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson maintained that he believed it was a touchdown. Linebacker Roquan Smith remarked that he did not think there was “enough evidence to overturn it,” according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
