Roughing the passer calls spur uproar. What to know about NFL's controversy from Week 5.

The NFL and its officials have been scrutinized over two roughing the-passer penalties in each of the past two days.

On Sunday, Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was flagged 15 yards on a third down play late in the fourth quarter after he sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady during the Falcons' 21-15 loss.

After the game, referee Jerome Boger said Jarrett "unnecessarily" threw Brady to the ground.

During Monday night's Kansas City Chiefs-Las Vegas Raiders game, Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones sacked Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, causing a fumble, which he recovered, but Jones also landed on Carr on the way down. Jones was penalized for roughing.

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Referee Carl Cheffers explained his ruling saying, "the quarterback is protected from being tackled with full body weight. My ruling was roughing the passer for that reason."

What did they look like?

From Bucs-Falcons on Brady:

From Raiders-Chiefs on Carr:

What are players saying about roughing the passer?

Players like Jones said he just wants to know what he can and cannot do.

"There's no need for an explanation," Jones said after the Chiefs' 30-29 victory. "What am I going to go up to them and say? 'How should I tackle?' 'How should I not roll on him?' I'm trying my best. I'm 325 pounds. What do you want me to do? I'm running full speed trying to get to the quarterback."

Said Carr: “Whether it was Tom’s this week or mine tonight, I don’t know if it matters whether we agree on it. There’s certain rules. They thought he landed on me, and that’s part of the rule. Chris made a great play on a three-man rush.”

Jarrett said, per ESPN: “Just looking back on it, I’m still kind of left clueless on what I’m expected to do in that situation. ...  I’m saying all we wanted was an opportunity that we, as a whole team, staff and organization earned in that moment, you know. That’s unfortunate that it had to go down like that.”

Brady said on SiriusXM's Let's Go! Podcast, per NFL.com: "It was a long hug, a long unwelcome hug from Grady. And he was in the backfield all day. So as I said after the games, I don't throw flags. What I do throw is tablets, and I didn't have one accessible at that time. He had a hell of a game. I'll leave it at that."

What is roughing the passer?

The NFL rulebook says that roughing the passer is "any physical acts against a player who is in a passing posture (i.e. before, during, or after a pass) which, in the Referee’s judgment, are unwarranted by the circumstances of the play will be called as fouls."

The rule is interpreted by five principles that officials use in their judgment of making the roughing the penalty call.

Some of the principles include being "prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as 'stuffing' a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball," and "clubbing the arm of a passer during a pass or just after a pass has been thrown."

Once the pass is thrown, the defender can make contact with the passer, but only up through the rusher's first step after the release of the pass. The defender then must avoid contact and or forcibly contact the passer

The infraction is penalized 15 yards and the offense is given an automatic first down. In extreme circumstances, the player can be ejected if the foul is deemed flagrant. The penalty is not reviewable.

Are changes to roughing the passer imminent?

The issue will be discussed at the NFL owners meeting at league headquarters in New York next week, according to the Associated Press. However, no changes are imminent.

For any rule change to take effect, the competition committee makes recommendations for changes and those must be voted on by the owners, requiring a three-fourths vote (24 votes) to pass.

What do the stats say about roughing the passer?

The stats suggest the officials are keeping the flags in their pockets when it comes to penalizing roughing the passer.

Through Week 5 in 2021, 51 were called. Only 28 have been called this season, according to league stats reported by the Associated Press.

Contributing: Safid Deen; Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL's roughing the passer calls draw uproar: Here's what to know.