The NFL's offseason decision to allow pass interference to be reviewed has caused a can of worms to spill all over the early part of the season.
The issue for coaches has been the seemingly inconsistent method by which reviews have overturned or stuck with calls on the field.
Thursday night's game in Green Bay, which the Philadelphia Eagleswon 34-27, offered several pass interference reviews.
This was how the pass interference rule was meant to be used: to correct an obvious error all the world could see was wrong.
Then things dove into the murky end.
Later in the second half, Packers receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling streaked down the sideline for a would-be big play. It appeared that Eagles corner Avonte Maddox initiated contact with the wideout before the ball arrived. Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur was so sure it was DPI when he challenged that he spiked the little red flag.
No dice.
Review let the call on the field stand.
"I really don't know what pass interference is anymore," LaFleur said, via the team's official website. "I'll just leave it at that."
NFL Head of Officiating Al Riveron said there was "no clear and obvious" evidence to overturn the call on the field.
Bright minds can disagree.
"It was clear and obvious to me, but I'm not the one making the decision," LaFleur added.
The Eagles later challenged a potential pass interference that looked like Alshon Jeffery's arm was hit just before the ball arrived -- and the social media world promised to revolt if that was overturned after the MVS penalty was not. It, too, was upheld.
The bar for overturning calls on the field is clearly high, and the replay officials prefer to defer to the on-field decision. That's all fine and dandy, but if coaches don't know where that bar sits one game to the next, or one play to the next, confusion rules the day.
The league initiated the replay rule only for 2019 and will revisit it in the offseason to determine whether it should scrap the idea or keep it around. If coaches continue to be befuddled at the rate they are through 49 games to start the season, the rule won't last.
