Lol, let's not go to the first tackle. In that case Rice was out of control and late. That he didn't make excessive contact with the opponent is immaterial. That was a reckless play from him.
However I take your point. I've seen games where refs let those go. The risk though is you let players think they can get away with that and they begin to push the boundaries of what else might be acceptable, and with a weak/incompetent ref like Kavanaugh someone could get hurt really quickly.
