Getty Images

A report this week indicated that the NFL believes a penalty should have been called for Buccaneers safety Jerome Whitehead’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in last Sunday’s game.

A flag was thrown, but referee Shaun Hochuli explained that there would be no penalty because Mayfield was still a runner and therefore “allowed to be hit in the head.” It appeared Mayfield had started his slide and Whitehead certainly seemed to lower his head to initiate contact, which is a penalty regardless of Mayfield’s status.

Mayfield said Wednesday that he has “no words” for Hochuli’s explanation of what happened and that he “thought that’s why they put the rule in” about lowering the helmet. When asked what he thinks he needs to do to get a penalty, Mayfield echoed others on the team who have wondered if their uniform plays a role in how games are officiated.

“Probably not playing quarterback for the Browns,” Mayfield said, via ESPN.com.

Mayfield may feel that way, but he also said “we can take the refs out of the game” if we’re scoring points. Their issues on that front led head coach Hue Jackson to talk about taking a bigger hand in the offense and we’ll see how all that plays out in Pittsburgh this weekend.