New on Sports Illustrated: NFL Teams Strongly Opposed to Keeping Pass Interference Review Rule

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The league's competition committee voted on a number of rules in its annual postseason surgery.

NFL teams are overwhelmingly opposed to keeping the rule that made pass interference reviewable by instant replay last season, according to results from an offseason survey conducted by the league's competition committee.

Per the NFL Network's Judy Battista, of the 29 teams that were asked about making the rule permanent, only eight said yes, while 21 said no. Three did not respond. 

When 22 teams responded to a question about extending the rule for one more season, 17 teams said no and only five said yes. 

The results are non-binding and don't necessarily mean that the rule, which was only first voted in last offseason, will be removed. But it stands to reason the rule will be a point of debate this offseason. 

"Overall the results were not great," Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said Monday, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "And I think it really is putting the New York [officiating] office in a very difficult position. ... But it's still pretty early [and] we're looking at different options."

At least 24 of the 32 owners would have to vote to keep the rule for it to remain in place.

The Washington Post also reported that according to the survey, 13 teams thought that interference-related replay rulings made by the officiating department in New York changed from week to week.

Reviewable pass interference was largely born out of one horrifically blown call in the 2019 NFC championship game, when officials failed to flag Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman for a full-speed, helmet-to-helmet hit on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before the arrival of the ball, deep in Los Angeles territory, late in a tied game.

The Rams would go on to defeat the Saints in overtime and there was in turn a collective frustration that New Orleans might have missed out on Super Bowl LIII because of an officiating error.

The rule was a frequent topic of conversation this season and some found it to be revealing of the league's inability to respond to any number of crises.

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