The NFL is blaming a failed call on Thursday night in a delay in obtaining good vision in the repetition.
On the play in question, Seattle punt returner Dee Williams muffed a punt and San Francisco’s Jalen Graham recovered it. That was clear in the replay shown during the Prime Video broadcast. But the on-field officials ruled that Williams never touched the ball, and the replay officials let the decision stand.
So why was the call upheld when replay clearly showed Williams touched the ball? NFL vice president of replay training and development Mark Butterworth explained after the game that the replay office only saw the conclusive angle at the same time the crowd saw it, when referee Craig Wrolstad was announcing that the play would stand.
“Once we had the San Francisco challenge, we were watching to see if the returner would actually touch the ball,” Butterworth told reporter Brady Henderson. “We reviewed all available angles and got the raw information from the truck. And there was no clear and obvious video evidence that the returner touched the ball. After looking at all available angles, we made the determination that we were going to “remain in the call because there was no clear and obvious video evidence. Once Craig made his ad and they came back from TV, the network had an enhanced take that they didn’t send out until after they played his ad.”
It was a big blown decision that cost the 49ers the ball in the red zone. The 49ers won anyway, but those are the kind of mistakes that can change the outcome of games. The NFL must absolutely make sure it is working with its television partners to get the best shots of key plays and correct mistakes, before the referee has announced that the call will stand just when the television audience sees that the call should have been changed. . .
