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Kevin Seifert
When all eyes are on a single NFL playoff game, officiating decisions receive a tremendous amount of attention. Face the stress of overtime, and you’ll see the heated debate that erupted at the end denver broncos‘ 33-30 Victory Above buffalo bill In Saturday’s divisional round.
The result included three calls in overtime, an uncharacteristic interception that ended the Bills possession and another two pass interference calls on a Bills cornerback. tradavious white The Broncos’ winning drive generated 47 penalty yards. The coincidence of the two pass interference flags was not lost on longtime observers of Broncos coach Sean Payton, who Missed chance to advance to Super Bowl LIII In 2019 – when he was the coach of New Orleans Saints – Largely due to a missed pass interference foul in the NFC Championship Game.
Let’s take a closer look at each situation in Saturday night’s game.
Situation: The Bills had the ball at their 36-yard line, and faced third down with 11 yards remaining. quarterback josh allen A deep ball thrown over the right hashmark to the receiver. brandin cook. broncos cornerback Jaquan McMillian Was in coverage. Cooks jumped and made the catch, but almost immediately after Cooks landed on the ground, the ball slipped out of his hand and went to McMillian.
Call: Referee Carl Scheffers’ team called the play an interception.
Analysis: Basically, Scheffers’ team was saying that Cook didn’t have possession of the ball before it went into McMillian’s hands. And because the ball did not hit the ground, it was still live at that time.
According to the NFL rulebook, Cook needed to do three things to show possession and be awarded the catch. First, he needed to have complete control of the ball with his hands or arms, which he did. Again, he needed to stay within limits, which, of course, he was. Third, he needed to maintain control of the ball for a long time in order to perform any other task normally in the game or to do so.
The rule book also includes this note: “If a player who has satisfied the first two, but not the third requirements for possession, contacts the ground and loses control of the ball, there is no possession.”
Video of the play shows that this is what happened. When Cooks made contact with the ground the ball was transferred from Cooks to McMillian. Therefore, Cooks did not meet the NFL’s definition of possession. McMillian did. He had control of the ball, was on the inside and maintained control as he fell over Cooks.
Citation: “It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said.
Situation: The Broncos had the ball at their 47-yard line, facing second-and-10. quarterback bo nix sent a 17 yard pass to the receiver Courtland Sutton On the sideline, with White in coverage. the ball remained incomplete
Call: Was marked white for pass interference.
Analysis: The NFL rulebook defines pass interference as “any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage that substantially hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.” It also lists some specific acts that qualify, one of which could, in theory, be applied to White in this play.
Players are prohibited from “grabbing an opponent’s arm in a manner that limits his opportunity to catch a pass.” Watching the replay in slow motion, it appeared that White briefly grabbed Sutton’s right arm, as Scheffers later noted in a pool report.
Despite the examples listed in the rule book, pass interference often results in judgment calls. When is a restriction really important?
Bills are generally good at crossing borders. They were tied for the fewest defensive pass interference flags in the NFL this season (four). And in this case, it could be argued that White’s contact was not significant. It is difficult to see these calls in real time, but a savvy person can watch the replay and not tell why White’s contact was incomplete.
Situation: The Broncos had the ball on the Bills’ 38-yard line, facing second-and-12. Nix sent a pass downfield to the receiver. Marvin Mims Jr.., with white in coverage. The ball remained incomplete.
Call: Schefters’ crew flagged White for defensive pass interference, a 30-yard spot foul that put the Broncos in position for a short game-winning field goal.
Analysis: After getting the first call, the Knicks looked for other plays after just two plays. This time, White’s contact appeared more significant. He caught Mims around the torso and began tackling him before the ball arrived. It doesn’t matter whether Mims likely caught the pass away from contact or not. White’s contact prevented Mims from getting the chance that the rule book insists he should have to catch the ball.
