Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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The Magic 8 Ball that is replay review of pass interference calls and non-calls continues to confuse and confound.
In the same game that replay review properly reversed a non-call of defensive pass interference to set up what became the game-winning touchdown by the Buccaneers, the replay procedure wasn’t even activated for the final play of the game.
With time expiring, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw deep to receiver Pharoh Cooper. Tampa Bay cornerback Jamel Dean clearly hit Cooper before the ball arrived. No flag was thrown.
The game ended, the teams dispersed, and that was that. (Just like the play from 44 years ago discussed in the attached video, when Drew Pearson got away with clear offensive pass interference.)
A penalty would have given Arizona an untimed down, which most likely would have resulted in a field-goal attempt that would have, if successful, forced overtime.
Per a league source, the play was considered for a potential replay review, but a decision was made not to officially review it, because it was determined that the play would not have been overturned, if the review had happened.
That’s yet another head scratcher regarding the vague and amorphous bar the separates the pass interference calls and non-calls that won’t be overturned via replay review and those that will.
Was there clear and obvious evidence of contact? Yes. Did it significantly hinder the receiver? Yes. But was it sufficiently egregious to justify a replay? Apparently not, even though there’s no way to know what it takes to be sufficiently egregious. And even though “sufficiently egregious” isn’t supposed to be part of the process.
The league didn’t apply the even more vague and even more amorphous Hail Mary protocol, which would have required a higher bar to constitute pass interference. It was the normal, usual DPI standard — and there still wasn’t enough evidence to even initiate the process for determining whether the play would be reviewed.