The NFL has been steadily progressive when it comes to rule changes. Due to the nature of the sport and entertainment, a steady shift towards offense became the precedent over the last few decades. However, the same cannot be said when it comes to officiating and replays.
Historically, the league has been wary of adding review time to the games. It is why pass interference calls only became reviewable for the 2019 season and haven’t since. However, we might be getting a major change soon to the officiating/review interplay. And fans, have certainly made their opinions heard.
Fans Split on Facemask Rule Change
The month’s league meeting had one topic on reporters’ minds. So, when executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent took the stage, the facemask issue was among the first problems to come up. Typically, a facemask involves a defender yanking on the facemask of an offensive player, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
One of the more grievous penalties in the game, the league is diligent about those calls. However, earlier this week, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t so lucky. A Dallas defender strip-sacked him by yanking on his facemask but officials missed the call. While the ruling did not come back to haunt Cincy, the issue was clear as day to see.
As a result, Vincent had to address the play directly: “Concerning, yes, because that’s a big miss — that’s a big foul.” Later in his response, Vincent said, “We believe that is one category that we can potentially get right.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com covered the entire meeting with his tweet, prefacing it with the discussion around facemask penalties. Immediately, the fans were all over it. For some, the decision was “Awesome,” especially with the quality of officiating being seen as “horrendous.”
I think I speak for MOST fans when I say, we would welcome more replay assist. The officiating has been horrendous.
— Ivan the Great (@Idesofmarch1321) December 12, 2024
But, there is a second component to the rule change. Already, many fans believe that the games are too long, with the average 60-minute game clock lasting anywhere above three hours.
Some fans quickly took to sarcasm to air out their frustration, stating, “Yes. Let’s make the game longer!”
Yes. Let’s make the game longer!
— Patricia L🤘 (@79_Best_year) December 12, 2024
But for those who want the “correct” call made every snap, the facemask is just the tip of the iceberg. Many fans were quick to call for all penalties to fall under the reviewable tag. Calling out the referees, the growing sentiment was against the men in black and white stripes.
All flags should be ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
— AJ (@AjSimms36) December 12, 2024
EVERY PENALTY should be reviewable. The quality of referees has gone way down and they miss too many calls. Every team gets two challenges a game, they should be able to challenge whatever they want.
Is the NFL that stupid that they don’t think the fans see their rigging?
— Nick (@NickVig) December 12, 2024
One fan did his best to summarize the situation around officiating. It was a clear “damned if I do, damned if I don’t” scenario according to him. “The game is ‘over officiated’ and it drives me nuts. The game is ‘poorly officiated’ and it drives me nuts.”
The game is “over officiated” and it drives me nuts. The game is “poorly officiated” and it drives me nuts.
— MarkB (@70sRockbest) December 12, 2024
Vincent made it clear that the severity of the facemask penalty had led the committee to make a decision. Commissioner Roger Goodell, however, went a step further. According to him, there is a good chance that the rule will be enforced as early as next season.
“We’re looking to expand that,” Goodell said. “We’re going to go to the committee with ways that we can do that. Fouls that may not be within their authority today, we hope they’ll be in their authority by next season.”
But, it might not just be facemask penalties that fall under scrutiny. Vincent believes “hits on a defenseless player, tripping, the fair catch, an illegal batted ball, an illegal double-team block, illegal formations on kickoffs and taunting” could also come under the replay assist feature.
Where do you stand on facemask penalties becoming reviewable starting next season?