NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay reacts to controversial decision not to flag hit to Sam Darnold's head

A former NFL official believes that Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Grover Stewart should have been penalized for his hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold during Sunday Night Football. During the broadcast on NBC, Terry McAulay, a rules analyst, said that Stewart hit Darnold in the head, which should be a personal foul penalty.

“That’s a pretty big blow to the head from the forearm, hand/wrist of the tackler,” McAulay said. “…If they would have called that, left the flag down, that’s certainly supportable as a foul for unnecessary roughness.”

Terry McAulay felt the Colts might have gotten away with a penalty.

"That's a pretty big blow to the head from the forearm, hand/wrist of the tackler…If they would have called that, left the flag down, that's certainly supportable as a foul for unnecessary roughness." pic.twitter.com/0k5MlFgFgB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 4, 2024

Officials originally threw a flag on Grover Stewart before picking it up. It was a big play as Darnold fumbled the ball on the hit, leading to Colts CB Kenny Moore picking up the loose ball and returning it for a 38-yard touchdown. That gave the Colts the 7-0 lead over the Vikings in the second quarter.

It’s been a strong 2024 season for Sam Darnold

In the first half of the Sunday Night Football game, Darnold competed 16 of his 19 passes for 138 yards with one interception and a lost fumble. But the former USC Trojans star has put together a strong 2024 season, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 1,610 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions through the first seven games.

While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show last month, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell explained how Darnold led the Vikings to a 5-0 start to the season. “You come into it with a bunch of confidence in Sam. I know our team had a bunch of confidence in Sam. Sam was really confident after a really good training camp but to have the success that he’s had, in many ways being an igniter for our team with some big critical throws early on in games to help us generate some of the leads that we’ve had,” O’Connell said, per Sports Illustrated. “Sam’s making some critical throws to (recapture momentum in a game). Leading us down to get more points on the board and help secure victory for our team.”