Yaw has been known to greatly influence the penetration performance of long-rod projectiles. Experiments have shown that even small angles of yaw can significantly degrade performance. We show that a critical feature of a yawed impact is the transverse load on the penetrator. Transverse loads tend to decrease the misalignment of rod axis and velocity vector. We use classical cavity expansion theory to quantify the impact transients and determine the magnitude of the transverse load. Then, a steady-state slot-cutting model is used to calculate the shape and orientation of a projectile that exits a finite plate. We find that this is contrary to the findings of some previous studies considered. The strength of the projectile may be ignored compared to the inertial loads even at the relatively high impact velocities. The theory agrees well with reverse impact experimental data on finite plates.