Replays show Chiefs were getting away with illegal formation in Week 1 vs. Ravens

Thursday night, frustration began brewing early and often for the Baltimore Ravens and their fan base. In the NFL's opening game for the 2024 campaign, Baltimore took on the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game.

Among the storylines in this one was that of a major emphasis made by the league after the conclusion of the 2023 season. The competition committee reviewed game tape extensively and came to an agreement that one particular penalty needed to be called more often: illegal formation.

So, over the summer, all teams were briefed on the tightening-up which would happen in regards to this area. Little did the Ravens know, the grips would become real tight.

And at the same time, those grips seemed a bit loose on the other side.

Baltimore was penalized a whopping four times for illegal formation in the first half. Head coach John Harbaugh was visibly heated and overwhelmingly confused on the sideline after the fourth instance, especially because the officiating didn't seem to be equal.

Replay after replay continued to show the Chiefs' right tackle Jawaan Taylor getting away with this exact same offense. But, it was almost as if the referee crew did not notice, or they pretended not to notice.

The thing was, Taylor's offenses were in plain sight. They were obvious, and fans made it known on social media by blowing up feeds with screenshots and videos of crystal-clear proof.

What is an illegal formation penalty in the NFL?

Let's go straight to the official NFL rulebook for this one. If we were to ask the league, verbatim, to define this penalty, this is what we would find:

"The offensive team must be in compliance with the following at the snap:

1. It must have seven or more players on the line
2. Eligible receivers must be on both ends of the line, and all of the players on the line between them must be ineligible receivers
3. No player may be out of bounds

Penalty: For illegal formation by the offense: Loss of five yards."

This should go without saying: the five down linemen need to be on the line of scrimmage prior to the snapping of the football.

In simpler terms and to make it relevant for this scenario, Taylor -- the Chiefs' right tackle -- was not up on the line of scrimmage on multiple instances. Yet, Kansas City was not penalized for illegal formation.