Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor was feeling the heat on Thursday night.
In a surprising 21-20 loss to the Lions at Arrowhead Stadium, the offensive lineman was called out on both the NBC broadcast and social media for apparently getting early starts while the team had the ball.
Throughout the game, Taylor, 25, appeared to be getting away with early jumps and deep positioning on the line as the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes continually lined up in shotgun formations.
As Taylor continued to get away with this move — and not get flagged — NBC’s Terry McAulay described what he was seeing on the field.
“To be on the line, his helmet has to break the waistline of the center,” McAulay explained to play-by-play man Mike Tirico. “And to be honest, we’ve watched him the whole game.
“He’s really not remotely close, and it’s really putting the defensive end at a tremendous disadvantage when he can be that far back.”
Social media was plenty incensed as well, and some users threw plenty of shade at Taylor.
“Jawaan Taylor is lining up half way to Arkansas and he still can barely contain the Lions edge rush,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Robert Griffin III had some jokes as well.
“Every Offensive Lineman watching Jawaan Taylor jump every snap knowing they do the same thing and know it won’t get called,” the ex-quarterback wrote with a meme of Shrek.
If fans were angry, they finally got some justice with 2:09 left in the game as the Chiefs set up for a fourth-and-20 when Taylor was called for a false start.
“Here you see, Jawaan Taylor playing slot receiver — finally got busted on one,” Cris Collinsworth joked on the broadcast.
Already in trouble, the Chiefs couldn’t convert on the fourth down, and the Lions took over on downs, eventually closing out the upset win with a kneel-down.
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