Officials missed it when Rams linebacker Bryon Young grabbed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold’s facemask for game security during their Week 8 matchup. The league office — as well as the rest of the world – did not miss this opportunity.
The NFL fined Young $7,014.19 for the offense.
This is the closest the league will come to publicly admitting its mistake. It remains unclear whether those responsible have been or will be punished for this error. If they really didn’t see it, what are they supposed to do?
Here’s what the NFL is supposed to do. Use replay review to get it right.
During Thursday night’s Texans-Jets game, it looked like someone used the pipeline to referee Shawn Hochuli to tell him he missed a facemask foul. Would it be a shock to learn that someone quite high up in the professional football food chain has quietly put the word out to gloss over the letter of the rule book and simply make the right decisions.
This poses no problem for me. As long as it is consistent. Once the league clings to the rules written for Rams-Vikings, it must do so for every other game as well.
