In the wake of Thursday’s horrific non-call of pass interference in the Vikings-Lions game, which happened when Detroit defenders wiped out Minnesota receiver Stefon Diggs as the ball was arriving, I made the case for making it a reviewable play.
That apparently won’t be happening.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Competition Committee and the coaches’ subcommittee generally are reluctant to expand reviewable plays. They are particularly averse to extending the replay system to include the review of penalties.
The concern is that this would result in a significant philosophical adjustment, and that it could have unforeseen negative impacts on on-field officials.
I personally think it’s not nearly that complicated. Clear and obvious errors happen in various ways. And they can happen with pass interference calls and non-calls.
So why not make it fixable? Consistently refusing to do so sells short the importance of the games — and it delays the inevitable moment where a clear and obvious error when calling or not calling pass interference decides a postseason game or a Super Bowl.
And if/when that occurs, the rule definitely will change. Further proving that the league office is far more reactive than proactive.