For the first time since a controversial no-call late in the NFC Championship Game proved crucial in the New Orleans Saints falling short of the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly addressed the matter, acknowledging the league’s error.
But to all the fans in uproar asking for the league to consider expanding replay reviews to include judgment calls, Goodell indicated that widespread changes to the league’s policies may not be coming, after all.
“We have worked very hard to bring technology in to try to make sure we can do whatever possible to address those issues,” Goodell said Wednesday at his news Super Bowl LIII news conference in Atlanta. “But technology is not going to solve all of these issues. The game is not officiated by robots. It’s not going to be. But we have to continue to go down that path.”
The play came on a third-and-10 with the teams tied 20-20 late in the fourth quarter of the game, when New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw a pass to receiver Tommylee Lewis. Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman clearly initiated contact well before the arrival of the ball, but two officials in the area kept the flags in their pockets and didn’t call a penalty for defensive pass interference (or a helmet-to-helmet hit, for which the league later fined Robey-Coleman, according to multiple reports) that would’ve given the Saints a new set of downs and a chance to burn plenty of the 1:45 left in the game before a potential game-winning score.
Instead, the Saints were forced to convert a field goal on the next play, but the lack of a penalty gave the Rams enough time to engineer a drive for a game-tying field goal that sent the contest into overtime. The Rams eventually won 26-23.
“We will look again at instant replay,” Goodell said. “There have been a variety of proposals over the last – frankly 15 to 20 years – of should replay be expanded. It does not cover judgment calls. This was a judgment call. The other complication is that it was a no-call. And our coaches and clubs have been very resistant and there has not been support to date about having a replay official or somebody in New York throw a flag when there is no flag (on the play).
“They have not voted for that in the past. It doesn’t mean that we won’t. It’s something that we’re going to put to the competition committee to see if there’s an answer to that, but the reality is that’s been at least an opposition philosophically for many clubs.”
In the league’s first public admission of error, Goodell said that NFL vice president of officiating Al Riveron told Saints coach Sean Payton in the moments after the game that the incident was “a play we want to have called.” Goodell added that he has spoken to Saints owner Gayle Benson as well.
“We understand the frustration of the fans,” Goodell said. “I’ve talked to coach Payton, the team, the players. We understand the frustration that they feel right now and we certainly want to address that. Whenever officiating is part of any kind of discussion postgame, it’s never a good outcome for us. We know that. Our clubs know that. Our officials know that. But we also know our officials are human. We also know that they’re officiating a game that moves very quickly and they have to make snap decisions under difficult circumstances and they’re not going to get it right every time.”
Despite Goodell’s comments, however, Saints receiver Michael Thomas – who has been one of the more outspoken critics of Goodell and the way the league handled the no-call, made his objections clear on Twitter, saying: “He ain’t talk to us”
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