The 2024 season, like any other, has been filled with calls from fans for several changes to the NFL rules.
The committee approved several new NFL rules for 2024, including a change to the kickoffs so that players would field the ball more often as opposed to touchbacks. But as the referee controversies and mistakes continue to pile up, it sounds like the league may finally take action to resolve one ongoing issue.
Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said the competition committee plans to discuss an expansion on replay assisting that would allow them to review specific penalties like facemasks.
For 2024, replay assistance was expanded to help officials on calls such as roughing the passer and intentional grounding. But with the refs missing an alarming amount of facemask calls this season, the league has faced calls to make such penalties reviewable.
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Roger Goodell and company have worked extensively to improve the enforcement of NFL rules over the years, though some tactics have proven unsuccessful. For instance, the ability for booth reviews and coaches challenges on pass interference penalties in 2019 proved disastrous, prompting the league to scrap that after just one year.
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The officials aren’t perfect, but there hasn’t been enough consistency with following the definitions of the NFL rules, such as holding, pass interference and roughing the passer. Of course, expanding replay assistance would go a long way in minimizing the scrutiny against the officials.
Fans Would Welcome This Very Change To The NFL Rules
It’s safe to say that just about any football fan would welcome the idea of making penalties like facemasks subject to replay review. Don’t forget the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings ‘TNF’ game, where the officials missed a clear-as-day facemask penalty on Byron Young against Sam Darnold at the end of the contest.
Unlike pass interference and holding, facemask penalties aren’t really judgment calls. If you grab the opposing players facemask, it has to be a penalty. So almost no controversy would come out of the expansion of replay review.
