Tag: offensive pass interference

Pass interference penalties will not be reviewable in 2020

After just one season, the NFL has reversed course and will no longer allow pass interference to be reviewed in the 2020 season.

After just one year, the NFL has ruled that pass interference penalties will not be reviewable again in 2020, according to NFL Competition Committee Chairman Rick McKay.

The rule allowing pass interference penalties to be reviewed via coaching challenges was highly-anticipated heading into the 2019 season, particularly after the debacle in the NFC Championship game in New Orleans last year, but the NFL referees made it clear they had little intention of overturning even the most obvious of pass interference calls – making it seem like a foregone conclusion that the rule would only last one season.

Coach Pete Carroll was among the most proactive coaches in attempting to challenge pass interference plays, and while he won one early in the year he was not successful otherwise – and often his challenges were ruled against in a very short period of time, leading some to believe the officials never had any intention of overturning the call on the field.

The NFL will go back to the way things were previously, and you can bet that until the league starts to take the inconsistencies in pass interference seriously, it will continue to be a sore spot for fans, coaches, and players during the 2020 season.

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Al Riveron explains why there was no OPI foul in final play of Saints-Vikings

NFL officiating chief Al Riveron explained why Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph was not fouled for pass interference against the Saints.

The New Orleans Saints just wrapped up a game, so NFL officiating supervisor Al Riveron had to call in and explain what happened at the end. It seems the Saints can’t just play a game without some sort of officiating controversy clouding things.

In this case, questions surrounded a possible push-off by Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph against Saints cornerback P.J. Williams on the final play of the game, which could have constituted offensive pass interference and given the Saints defense another opportunity to get off the field. No penalty was called for it, however, and Riveron defended the decision.

“None of that contact rises to the level of a foul,” Riveron told The Athletic’s Larry Holder. As a scoring play, it was automatically reviewed by Riveron’s office in New York, and he expressed confidence in the different angles Fox provided them.

“Yes, FOX was great,” Riveron said. “They gave us every angle that they had pertaining to the play. So, we’re very comfortable with what we saw. Nothing came through afterward that we had not seen prior to making the ruling.”

It’s ridiculous that these debates about officiating keep trailing the Saints. Human errors are going to happen in every game — it’s part of the argument in favor not automating more of the officiating process — but it’s outrageous that they keep happening to the Saints in the highest-leverage moments. Wouldn’t it be great if they could just have a game and win or lose without any question of to what degree the referees got involved?

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