The referees missed when Rams linebacker Bryon Young grabbed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold’s facemask on the game-clinching safety in their Week 8 game. The league office, along with with the rest of the world, he didn’t miss it.
The NFL fined Young $7,014.19 for the violation.
It’s the closest the league will come to publicly admitting the mistake. It is not yet clear whether the officials were or will be punished for the mistake. If they really didn’t see it, what are they supposed to do?
This is what the NFL is supposed to do. Use replay review to get it right.
During Thursday night’s Texans-Jets game, it felt like someone used the pipe to referee Shawn Hochuli and tell him they missed a mask foul. Would it be a surprise to learn that someone fairly high up the professional football food chain quietly posted the word to bypass the letter of the rule book and simply get the calls right?
I don’t have any problem with that. As long as it’s consistent. Once the league sticks to the rules written for Rams-Vikings, it will have to do so for all other games as well.
