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According to multiple reports, the Cincinnati
Bengals were the only team to vote against the rule.
The new rule, which will be revisited next offseason to
determine if it becomes permanent, will allow coaches to
challenge any call or non-call of pass interference before the
final two minutes of each half, and any such plays to be
reviewable by the booth inside of two minutes. Coaches will
still be allowed only two challenges per game, or three if the
first two are successful.
After getting little support from the owners in meetings Monday,
the rule change was pushed over the edge by overwhelming support
from coaches, multiple outlets reported. Meetings regarding the
rule ran long Monday as coaches made their case for implementing
the change, and they continued Tuesday.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton led the effort, after
his team missed out on a likely appearance in Super Bowl LIII
when referees failed to make an obvious pass interference call
late in the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams.
"I think we got it right," Payton told reporters afterward. "It
felt like we had to go around the block twice, and then arrived
at the right address."
Saints owner Gayle Benson, who issued a strong statement after
the team's championship game loss in reference to the
officiating, added, "This is what I wanted to happen. That's why
I made my statement. [The missed call] will never happen again."
"People compromised on long-held views because people wanted to
get it right," commissioner Roger Goodell said in his press
conference, held shortly after the new rule was approved.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the new rule would have had a major
impact had it been in place earlier, not only the NFC
Championship Game but also for Super Bowl LIII.
According to Schefter, the competition committee admitted the
new rule would have given the Rams the ball at the 1-yard line
with 4:24 remaining as they trailed 10-3 in the Super Bowl,
after cornerback Stephon Gilmore subtly hooked wideout Brandin
Cooks' arm on an incompletion in the end zone. No call was made
on that play -- Cooks still nearly caught the pass, but couldn't
hang on -- and Jared Goff was intercepted by Gilmore on the next
snap, all but clinching the game for New England.
Meanwhile, the possibility of a "sky judge" -- an eighth
official looking at camera feeds live to help make obvious
decisions without reviews -- is not yet dead, according to
Steelers owner Art Rooney II. However, there remain a number of
logistics to work out on the subject, and it will be revisited
later this offseason.
Among other decisions made on rule changes:
--The Kansas City Chiefs' proposal that would guarantee both
teams possession in overtime, regardless of whether the first
team to possess the ball scores a touchdown, was tabled until
May. The Chiefs lost the AFC Championship Game without
possessing the ball in overtime after the Patriots scored a
touchdown on the first possession.
--The Denver Broncos' proposal to allow teams to attempt a
fourth-and-15 conversion from their own 35-yard line in lieu of
attempting an onside kick -- used a maximum of once per game --
was rejected, despite seven of eight competition committee
members voting in favor of it.
--The definition of plays subject to automatic reviews was
expanded. Previously including only plays involving a score or
turnover, the category now also includes any score or turnover
nullified by penalty or any extra-point or 2-point conversion
attempt.
--Changes made to the kickoff in 2018 on a one-year trial were
made permanent moving forward.
--All blind-side blocks were made illegal, with the intention of
improving player safety after research showed such blocks led to
a third of concussions sustained on punts. Previously, players
were only allowed to deliver blind-side blocks that avoided the
head or neck area.
--After unsportsmanlike conduct penalties occur during a
touchdown play, teams are now allowed to choose whether to
enforce the penalty on the extra-point try or on the kickoff.
--Field Level Media
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