How the Seattle Seahawks became the first team to benefit from new NFL rule

The Seattle Seahawks stymied the Denver Broncos offense all game, committing no defensive penalties on the afternoon.

There was one penalty that was called that, thanks to a new NFL rule, was overturned.

In the fourth quarter with the Seahawks up 26-13, Leonard Williams and Dre’Mont Jones pressured and hit Broncos quarterback Bo Nix into an incomplete pass. The officials threw a flag for roughing the passer on Jones, turning what would’ve been 2nd and 10 into a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down for the Broncos.

When lead official Brad Allen turned on his microphone, he announced the flag had been picked up:

“After replay assist, there is no foul for a personal foul to the head and neck area. Second down.”

As Field Gulls addressed earlier in the offseason, the NFL expanded replay official capabilities to include reviews of roughing the passer, late hits out of bounds, and intentional grounding penalties. These penalties can be advised for overturn when “specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious video evidence is present,” the rule states.

It should be noted that replay assist, which was first implemented in 2021, can only overturn a called penalty into a no-call an not the other way around, so in a hypothetical world where Jones clearly roughed Nix but no flag was thrown, the replay assist could not recommend a penalty be assessed after the fact.

Even within the context of roughing the passer, it’s only for a specific type of call. This is what the rulebook states:

“If a foul is called for roughing the passer based only on a hit to the passer’s head or neck area and there is clear and obvious video evidence that the defender did not make any contact with the passer’s head or neck area.”

Jones’ hit met the criteria for review, and the replay showed beyond dispute that the overturn was justified.

There’s an important distinction to make as far as roughness on the quarterback and whether or not replay can reverse a penalty. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was deemed to have been hit in the head by Buffalo Bills defender Ja’Marcus Ingram. This was an incorrect call, but Murray was scrambling and is therefore a runner, so it is not subject to review.

There was also another instance of the replay assist program during the 1 pm PT window. In the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Washington Commanders game, the Bucs thought they had a 32-yard screen pass to Rachaad White wiped out due to an ineligible man downfield penalty on Graham Barton, who was adjudged to have been beyond one yard of the line of scrimmage at the time the pass was thrown. Referee Bill Vinovich initially announced the flag, but replay assist stepped in to overturn what was a clearly erroneous call. Replay assist already had the ability to step in on ineligible man downfield penalties prior to the 2024 season.

While this is far from a perfect system, these two examples are positive instances of the value of replay assist in fixing clear and obvious officiating mistakes without slowing the game to a halt.