The NFL finally allowed coaches to challenge pass interference calls this season.

It has not gone well, with it being nearly impossible to overturn a called pass interference penalty, and just slightly less impossible to have one called via replay if there was no flag thrown on the play. Today’s Ravens-Texans game featured an illustrative example, as refs initially didn’t flag Marlon Humphrey for what looked to be pretty defensive pass interference on Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien challenged the non-call, because obviously it would have been a huge play; the Texans would have had the ball essentially at the goal line. Instead, predictably (because we’re now conditioned to expect the NFL to get this kind of shit wrong as often as possible), the non-call was upheld. Good work all around!

And then, this, from perhaps the least radical possible source:

When the league loses Tony Dungy, it’s truly time to reevaluate everything. The inaction by replay officials is obviously bad enough, but it’s important to wonder whether it’s already having an effect on which calls are made on the field. Knowing replay is an option, it’s possible that some officials are perhaps not throwing flags on calls they otherwise would have, or vice versa.

And that’s fine; we get annoyed when officials blow plays dead that should have been kept live, for example. But that only works if the replay center is doing its job properly, and that’s clearly not happening.

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.