Some quarterbacks get the benefit of the doubt from officials, while others just simply do not.
It tends to be the marquee signal-callers, especially the older ones — Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers — who referees tend to treat favorably from a penalty flags perspective. And then there are guys like Cam Newton, who, earlier in his career, took some massive hits — some clearly of the unnecessary roughness variety — yet could not get a call to save his life.
And then there are the middle-tier quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins, who get a lot of the same treatment Newton did. Cousins got drilled in the face by Jason Pierre-Paul in Sunday’s game against the Bucs, but no flag was thrown.
To make matters worse, a penalty was called on the Vikings for holding.