Roger Goodell’s No. 2 Announces Bold Plans for NFL After Referees Miss Blatant Joe Burrow and Sam Darnold Penalties

The NFL is getting stricter on its commitment to players’ safety. In the 2019 season, they made pass interference reviewable but did not continue it later. However, they are back with bigger, bolder plans. Roger Goodell’s no. 2 and executive VP of football operations, Troy Vincent, believes they are ready to have replay assistance in the league in 2025. It’s interesting.

During the December League Meeting on December 11, Vincent talked about the missed facemask penalties, illegal hits and other additional penalties, and claimed that the NFL would try to minimize it using replays. Talking about it, he said, “We would like to consider or for the membership to consider putting that foul category that we can see, putting that on the field to help because there is a frustration. We believe that is one category that we can potentially get right.”

At 7:28 mark in the 4th quarter, Cowboys OLB Marist Liufau grabbed Joe Burrow’s facemask on 3rd & 13. But the officials missed it. Announcer Joe Buck was so stunned by the officials missing it that he exclaimed, “They just flat out missed it.” It was the second time that this happened. The first time was against NFL QB Sam Darnold in the week 8 matchup against the Rams.

In the 4th quarter, LB Byron Young grabbed the Vikings QB Sam Darnold’s facemask. Fans were outraged. Roger Goodell, too, understood the building tension. He also hoped that they would cover such penalties and said, “Fouls that may not be within their authority today, we hope they’ll be in their authority by next season.” However, the teams would be concerned with this, considering the 15-yard penalty with it.

On the other hand, the NFL game officials would be happy. They have often been at the receiving ends in such instances, without any fault.

Roger Goodell’s decision will help the game officials

Tra Blake was officiating the Vikings–Rams week 8 matchup. And he started getting trolled after missing the facemask penalty. But it wasn’t his fault. He was at an angle from where he couldn’t see the foul play, as Darnold was facing the opposite side.

While talking about the situation, he revealed, “Well, on that play, the quarterback was facing the opposite direction from me, so I did not have a good look at it. The umpire had players between him and the quarterback, so he did not get a look at it. So, we did not see it, so we couldn’t call it.” That’s understandable.

In 2025, they would also get help from the replay assistance. However, Roger Goodell would be happier if it gets flagged and called out in the field. Definitely, the decision would be taken only after players’ union approval. There could be more changes.

The NFL is also analyzing the possibility of an 18-game season. That would be an exciting move if gets approved. Fans are excited about the different things that might happen.