The addition of replay assist has been a nice touch for the NFL in 2024, but if officials on the field can’t use it to get calls right in crunch time, what’s the point?
That obviously came to light when a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings in Week 8 ended with Sam Darnold getting his face twisted sideways. Not only was it the most blatantly obvious penalty of all time, but nearly 12 million people saw it happen in real-time.
A game-sealing safety on what should’ve been a facemask call against the Rams.
“They cannot review that. But he definitely got the facemask (of Sam Darnold). ” – Kirk Herbstreit
“Viking fans are going ‘What the hell?!'” – Al Michaels #NFL #TNF 🏈🦓🎙️ pic.twitter.com/DbfLrhtXHr
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 25, 2024
And so did the replay official.
And yet, nothing. The officials on the field didn’t see it, so it’s like it never happened.
We don’t have to keep living like this!
Perhaps the league is starting to recognize this, as Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino acknowledged during a recent podcast appearance.
“I think they’re going to consider,” Blandino told Ari Meirov on his NFL Spotlight podcast. “I think the approach has always been with the competition committee, deal in objective fact. Let’s not get into the subjectivity of holding, where we’re just taking one person’s judgment, the officials judgment, and replacing it with another person’s judgment — a replay official. There’s so much subjectivity due to those types of calls.
“We saw what happened when they made pass interference reviewable — it didn’t work. I don’t think it’s impossible to get into this subjective calls, but you have to have a consistent standard and you have to stick to that standard. Something like a facemask, though, to me, is less subjective; it’s simple. You look at that play, and that play’s an obvious example. If we look at the video, yeah, (Los Angeles Rams defender Byron Young) grabbed the mask and turned the head.”
After the blatant missed facemask on Sam Darnold last week, will the NFL consider making that reviewable in the future?
“I think the league will look at that and allowing replay to assist in those situations.” ~ @DeanBlandinohttps://t.co/9gY4ZcfMhZ https://t.co/MgHsvXnSBI pic.twitter.com/f4AQZTRVW1
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 30, 2024
“Are there going to be plays where maybe they grab the mask and they let go right away? It’s a slight brush of the mask,” Blandino added. “There’s still going to be some subjectivity and some judgment involved. But I do think the league’s going to look at that. Obviously, that’s a big play in the game, it results in a safety. It’s a one-score game at the time. So, I do think they’re going look at that and allowing replay to assist in those situations.
“They do it now on roughing the passer, contact to the head/neck area or hits at the sideline. So, I think they’re going to look at adding that for the offseason. They’ll have a pretty good discussion.”
There is potential for replay assistance to evolve, but as Blandino points out, the league has to navigate the tricky balance between objectivity and the subjectivity of certain calls.
As stated above, it’s not that simple, but the NFL can’t keep turning a blind eye to glaring missed calls like the one on Darnold. With the technology at its disposal, the league should use replay assist to help officials get it right, especially in crucial moments that could decide a game or even injure a player.
