One of the running themes of the 2019 NFL season has been the addition of the ability to challenge pass interference calls or non-calls. More specifically, the story has been the fact that such calls are almost never overturned, even when the pass interference seems obvious.
On Sunday, however, the Arizona Cardinals managed to pull off the seemingly impossible and successfully challenge a pass interference non-call. 49ers defensive back Richard Sherman was ruled to have interfered with Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk, and the ball was moved to the San Francisco 3-yard line.
This, apparently, is what it takes to overturn a pass interference non-call:
How the hell is this not a pass interference? Come on @NFL … What the hell?!? #NFLonFOX #passinterference #Cardinals pic.twitter.com/blf9pZLuu6
— Tom Edmondson (@Edmo06) November 17, 2019
Overturning that and penalizing Sherman was the correct decision, but it only exposes the flaws in the current system. Earlier in the day, a play in the Texans-Ravens game was every bit as blatant a foul as this play was, but in that instance, the call was not made, even after review. That’s usually what happens, so it’s genuinely shocking that the review yielded a foul here.
