The NFL has admitted that a crucial catch by Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis should have been ruled an incomplete pass, and would have been overturned if only the replay assistant had initiated a replay review. The Vikings had no mechanism for challenging that mistake by the replay assistant, because there were less than two minutes remaining in the second half, and teams can’t challenge in the last two minutes.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick dislikes that rule.
Belichick said this morning that he believes every play should be reviewable if the coach has a challenge and a timeout and is confident enough that replay will reveal a missed call that he’s willing to risk losing a challenge and a timeout if he’s wrong.
“The rules are the rules, the competition committee and the league vote on the rules, so whatever they are, that’s what they are,” Belichick said. “I think that, provided that the team has a challenge, they should have the opportunity to challenge, really, any play.”
Belichick has previously asked the competition committee and the league to change the rule and allow coaches to throw their challenge flags at any time, on any call, as long as they have both a challenge and a timeout. But so far he hasn’t had much support. Perhaps the Vikings will support him after Sunday’s blown call.