The NFL’s decision to make pass interference reviewable last season did not have much of a positive impact on the game, and it should surprise no one that the league may scrap the experiment in 2020.
NFL teams are strongly opposed to renewing the replay rule making pass interference reviewable, Mark Maske of The Washington Post reports. On the NFL Competition Committee’s annual offseason survey, a whopping 21 teams said they do not want to make the rule permanent.
NFL teams are strongly against renewing the instant replay rule making pass interference reviewable. On the competition committee's offseason survey, 21 teams said they're not in favor of making the rule permanent, to 8 teams that said they are in favor of making it permanent.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) February 25, 2020
Overall, the ability for coaches to review pass interference calls and no-calls last season ended up being a sham. There were 101 such replays initiated either by coach’s challenges or booth reviews, and the call on the field was changed just 21 times. Referees consistently showed an unwillingness to change the call on the field, even when it was blatantly obvious that the wrong call was made or a call should have been made.
The NFL only decided to experiment with reviewing pass interference plays after one of the worst no-calls in football history cost the New Orleans Saints a trip to the Super Bowl. The rule change was a direct response to public pressure, but officials barely ever used it to correct themselves last season. If those reviews are going to be handled similarly in 2020, there’s no point in having them.
