The National Football League has reportedly admitted that their crew blew at least one call that should have been made on Thursday night with regard to Cam Newton’s repeated punishment.
ESPN’s Kevin Siefert reported on Saturday that the NFL believes Brandon Marshall’s hit on Newton in the third quarter should have been a 15-yard penalty.
The NFL ruled it would have violated a rule against spearing or leading with the helmet.
It’s nothing we didn’t already know. The NFL was rightly criticized for failing to flag a number of hits on Newton. There is obviously nothing they can do in retrospect except admit that they were wrong, but hopefully referees see the controversy and take it as a lesson to watch closely on quarterback hits in light of the controversy.
