Lack of PI review at end of Cardinals-Bucs another mark against new rule
After weeks of seeing plays that looked like pass interference not be overturned on review, it was obvious NFL officials wanted to see an obvious foul to change the ruling on the field.
But the new rule to review pass interference was put in place to make sure blatant missed calls were corrected.
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The Arizona Cardinals will probably say that a blatant call was missed on the final play of their loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It might have cost them a chance to tie the game.
Cardinals don’t get a call
The Cardinals threw downfield on their final play, trailing 30-27. Kyler Murray threw to Pharoh Cooper. Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean came from behind Cooper, hit him in the back before the ball got there and broke up the pass.
It’s hard to say it wasn’t interference. Dean got there too early. General manager Steve Keim (although biased) saw it in real time.
Cardinals GM just begging for a PI here.
How is that not a PI? pic.twitter.com/2JYk3jdDh1— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) November 10, 2019
Yet, there was no review. The booth automatically reviews all plays in the final two minutes. There was no review, for some reason. Game over. Had the play been reviewed and pass interference called, the Cardinals could have lined up for a game-tying field goal with no time left on the clock.
New rule has been criticized
For anyone who has complained about the new rule, this is perhaps the worst mistake we’ve seen this season.
Funny enough, earlier in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers got a rare changed call on a review for pass interference. Mike Evans was dragged down near the goal line, no call was made, but officials reviewed it and (rightfully) called pass interference.
The Cardinals probably wondered why the replay booth didn’t take a look when their receiver seemed to get interfered with.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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