The NFL wisely has opted for getting it right over getting it done quickly.
The Ravens’ official Twitter page points out that the owners have voted to allow automatic replay of all scoring plays, without a challenge from a coach. This expands the use of booth review beyond the final two minutes of each half and during overtime.
Per Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL has decided to stick with the rule that gives coaches a third challenge if they get their first two right. The proposal to make scoring plays automatically reviewable included a reduction of the number of coaches’ challenges to two.
It’s a good start, but we think the league needs to ultimately expand the rule to provide automatic review of all turnover plays and all plays involving a potential first down.
Yes, it potentially makes the games longer. But the game itself has gotten too big to allow reversible human error to potentially impact outcomes.