It will be too late for the Detroit Lions, but don't be surprised if the NFL changes the rule that prevented officials from reviewing Houston Texans running back Justin Forsett's long phantom touchdown on Thanksgiving.
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SI.com's Peter King reported Thursday that the NFL is "very likely" to overturn the rule, which prevents a play from being reviewed if a coach throws a challenge flag on a play that is automatically reviewed, like a touchdown or a turnover.
"Too onerous," were the words used by an NFL source to describe the rule to King. The rule was intended to prevent coaches from simply throwing flags to argue with officials and waste time. But the league already punishes coaches for the unnecessary flag by giving them a 15-yard penalty.
Chris Brown of Grantland.com suggested another smart measure: Have the coaches lose a challenge if they throw the flag when they aren't supposed to. We like the idea, but we're not sure if that will be taken into consideration.
The most important thing is to get the call right. Obvious mistakes like the Forsett touchdown in the Texans' 34-31 overtime win should be reviewed, even if Lions coach Jim Schwartz made a huge error by throwing the flag.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
