The NFL was fortunate that a major officiating error did not cost the Minnesota Vikings a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and Bill Belichick thinks the mishap was further evidence that the league needs to make at least one big change to its replay review rules.
Buffalo was trailing 30-27 with just 17 seconds remaining when Gabriel Davis caught a pass at the Minnesota 40 as he was falling out of bounds. It initially looked like Davis got his hands under the ball, but replays showed that the ball hit the ground. Since there were under 2 minutes remaining, any review would have had to have been initiated by the replay booth. Play was not stopped and the Bills marched into field goal range and sent the game to overtime.
Belichick was asked about the sequence during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” The New England Patriots coach has said in the past that he believes coaches should still be able to challenge plays with under 2 minutes remaining as long as they still have a challenge. He considers what happened in Buffalo to be further evidence that a rule change is needed.
“(The Davis catch) could’ve been reviewed by the officials because it was under two minutes. Either it wasn’t, or they missed it, however you want to characterize it,” Belichick said. “But to me, that would be an example of a play that the team should have an opportunity to challenge if they want to and if they have a challenge left.
Belichick also mentioned how he still feels that calls like holding and pass interference should be reviewable. The 70-year-old is clearly in favor of expanded replay.
The NFL has admitted that Sunday’s game should have been stopped to review the Davis catch. Fortunately for the league, the Vikings won in OT. Had the most insane finish of the year gone the other way, the officiating would have been a much bigger story.
