Cris Collinsworth and Jason Kelce react to a flood of banal penalties in the Chiefs-Ravens game

The Baltimore Ravens’ first drive of the 2024 NFL season got off to a rocky start.

The Ravens’ offensive line took three penalties in the first seven plays of the game, as tackle Ronnie Stanley and tackle Patrick Mekari were both penalized for illegal formation – a focus for referees earlier in the season. One of those penalties was offset by a pass interference violation by the defense that would have put the ball deep in Chiefs territory.

In other words, unnecessary flags were waved in the first few minutes of the game. Cris Collinsworth noticed the referees’ eagle eye earlier in the season and addressed it on the NBC broadcast.

“Wow. You call that razor sharp,” Collinsworth said. “… It takes away a huge play on the field for the Ravens.”

Recently retired Jason Kelce, who is not on the NFL roster this season for the first time since his college days in Cincinnati, also commented.

And everyone else watching from home had a similar thought:

Before the end of the first half, Stanley was penalized again for illegal positioning.

Thankfully, the game got better from there. Baltimore fought through the penalties and opened the scoring mode with a five-yard touchdown run by Derrick Henry, and the Kansas City Chiefs quickly countered with 13 unanswered points.