I remember watching a Bills game against the Steelers 3-5 years ago, where TJ Watt was punching Josh during a run.
He made it look like he was aiming to punch the ball out, but most of his punches landed on Josh's arm and body.
I swear there was a slow motion replay of it, that showed Josh look over at TJ, after the first punch, with an astonished expression, like WTF?? When I saw the play, I couldn't believe it wasn't flagged.
I can understand defenses trying to dislodge a ball by trying to punch it out of the ball carriers arms, but there should be repercussions when the punch hits the player and not the ball.