The NFL’s limited replay-review system strikes again.
From time to time over the past few years, a bad call has occurred in real time, and after the fact the football-following world learns that replay review isn’t available for that specific play.
In the second half of Sunday’s Bears-Lions game, a Bears player clearly pushed a Lions player into the ball after a Chicago punt, and the Bears recovered it. The ruling on the field stood after replay review, because replay review isn’t available for the question of whether the Detroit player had been pushed into the ball.
Fortunately for the NFL, the latest gaffe didn’t happen on the big stage of prime time. Still, it’s another reason why the NFL needs to flip the default to everything being reviewable -- with a finite list of judgment calls (like pass interference and holding) that will never be reviewable.
PFT reported last week that there is momentum among owners to ensure that major errors like the one that occurred Sunday in Detroit will be fixable.
The mistake ended up being a big one. The Bears scored on the ensuing possession and have since added another touchdown to lead by seven late.
