The NFL's addition of pass-interference judgement calls to instant-replay review was supposed to negate erroneous penalties and correct uncalled ones.
On Thursday night, though, the Washington Redskins had an explosive play taken away after a receiver was called for pass interference on the play – a flag that was apparently never justified by the officials, both before Jay Gruden threw the challenge flag and after the call on the field was upheld.
During the second quarter of Thursday's game, Washington sophomore wide receiver Cam Sims was flagged for pass interference on a 44-yard connection between Case Keenum and Steven Sims that would have the put ball inside the Cincinnati Bengals' five-yard line. Gruden challenged the call, only to learn that officials saw no reason for it to be overturned.
The issue at hand isn't so much that the flag was upheld, but that one of the officials on the field couldn't explain to Cam Sims why it was thrown in the first place.
“I ran a slant, and the dude ran at me,” Sims said, per The Athletic's Rhiannon Walker. “I was trying to avoid him. I walked up to (the referee), and I was like,’ What I do?’ He was like, ‘Shoot; I don’t know.’ Like I forgot what he told me for real because I just knew it was some, yeah. They couldn’t tell me what I did wrong.”
Video of the play shows Sims making contact with the Bengals defensive back tasked with covering Steven Sims, but it indeed appears incidental. That Gruden never received an explanation from the officials after replay review only makes the call more frustrating, and portends season-long controversy to come about the NFL's rule change.
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