NFL must make pass interference calls challenge-able for 2019

The Washington Redskins were the victim of a bad non-call on pass interference earlier in the year. After the no-call in the Rams-Saints game, the league needs to step up and fix the problem by making the call challenge-able.

If you watched the NFC Championship game, chances are you saw one of the worst non-calls in the history of sports. It’s far and away the worst missed called that I personally have ever seen, and it surely cost the Saints a chance to play for a Super Bowl title.

Sure, Sean McVay is a great head coach. And the Rams did well to stay in the game. But the refs really cheated the Saints out of a victory. And the rules need to change as a result of that.

For those that didn’t see, there were less than two minutes left in the game and the Rams were out of timeouts. The Saints were trying to convert a third down, and Tommylee Lewis was coming out of the backfield on a route. Drew Brees threw the ball to him. More than one second before the ball got there, Lewis was decked by Nickell Robey-Coleman. He got there well before the ball and never looked back at the ball. It was an obvious call.

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The flags stayed in the officials’ pocket amid a smattering of boos from the New Orleans crowd.

Usually, it’s hard to blame officials for one mistake. After all, the Saints did have multiple chances to put the game away. But the call…it really was awful. And this one truly cost New Orleans the game, as they could have run the clock out and kicked the game-winning field goal to advance to the Super Bowl. It never happened. It also brings up a good point: why shouldn’t pass interference calls be challenge-able?

This year, the NFL has seen many big calls or non-calls in critical scenarios missed. This was the biggest, but Redskins fans will remember a non-call against Josh Doctson that would have pushed the team into field goal range against the Texans. Had that been challenge-able, the team likely would have won the contest. Imagine how many other outcomes across the league could be flipped if that possibility opens up.

A disproportionate amount of pass interference calls are missed across the league. The league has to do something about this, and at least allowing the coach to challenge them is something. For those voicing concern about the pace of play or worried about every play being challenged, that wouldn’t be an issue. In terms of replay, only obvious calls could be overturned. The CFL has implemented this successfully in the past, and the NFL could surely figure out a way to make this work.

Of course, there is some concern about over-challenging or challenging to look for PI on other players. But, these pitfalls can be avoided by writing the rules properly and only focusing on potential pass interference where the ball was thrown.

And after all, the most important thing should be getting the call right. The way to do that is to make pass interference calls challenge-able. If that was an option, then coaches could at least have a chance to change some critical plays and put another check on the power of increasingly incompetent referees. The impetus for change should come from that non-call in the NFC Championship game, but the Doctson play will be involved in any potential rule changes.

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NFL, do what is right and consider allowing challenges on PI calls. Fans can only take so much poor officiating that costs their team games.

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