Did Ed Hochuli get help from NFL on facemask call?

NFL official Ed Hochuli called one of the most delayed facemask penalties you will ever see during Monday night’s game between the Bengals and Broncos, and some are wondering if he received help from the league offices.

Late in the third quarter, Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson sacked A.J. McCarron but clearly dragged him down by the facemask. No flag was thrown until just before the next play was about to begin. It’s possible that Hochuli simply missed the facemask and another official told him it happened when the crew converged.

Or, as former vice president of officiating Mike Pereira believes, Hochuli may have received intel from an outside source who watched the replay.

For those asking about the facemask, the input had to come from somewhere else. Had to be replay and it is not reviewable.

— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) December 29, 2015

Nobody will convince me otherwise. I don't like it. The rules don't allow that. I know it is about getting it right but….

— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) December 29, 2015

Current NFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino recently revealed that the league would communicate with referees during playoff games, but he said the communication would not involve penalties. Blandino said the resource would be available more for the “administration” part of the game, and also in a situation like the one that arose in the Giants-Panthers game in Week 15.

Pereira certainly knows more than we do, but the fact that the officials got together to discuss the play makes it seem like Hochuli got help from his crew. Hochuli might have wanted to avoid a phantom facemask call like the one that involved Aaron Rodgers a few weeks ago.

Video via The Big Lead