On Thanksgiving, millions of football fans learned something surprising about the NFL’s rules: When a coach throws a challenge flag on a play that the referee was automatically going to review, it nullifies the replay review. So when Lions coach Jim Schwartz challenged an obviously botched call by the officials that gave the Texans a touchdown, the Texans got to keep that touchdown, even though the replay made clear that Texans running back Justin Forsett was down after seven yards of an 81-yard run.
But that rule will no longer exist if the NFL’s owners accept the Competition Committee’s recommendation: The Competition Committee is asking the owners to allow referees to go ahead and review a play when a coach wrongly throws his challenge flag. Under the proposal, the team whose coach wrongly threw a flag will be penalized, but the play will still be reviewed.
The owners will vote on the proposed rule at this week’s league meeting in Arizona. This is your opportunity to tell the owners what you think. Take our poll and post your thoughts in the comments.
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