The NFL implemented a new rule this offseason protecting receivers from being hit in the head immediately following an interception. But when a referee applied that rule this offseason, it was not done correctly.
NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino admitted as much in a video distributed to the media, saying that in an unnecessary roughness penalty called on Bills safety Aaron Williams last week against the Browns should have been enforced under the old rule that already protected the intended receiver from taking a hit while he’s in a defenseless position. Instead, the referee applied the new rule as if the hit had taken place after the interception, awarding the ball to the Bills when it should have stayed with the Browns.
“We talked about the new rule that was instituted this year, the intended receiver in that action during an interception gets the defenseless player protection,” Blandino said. “But this is not the intended receiver after an interception. This is a receiver trying to catch a pass. This receiver has always been protected under the defenseless player rule. This foul should be enforced on the previous spot, and the offense should keep the football. It was not enforced correctly. The defense kept the football.”
No one is going to get too worked up about that because no one cares who wins or loses in the preseason, but a call like that could cost a team a game if it’s called wrong in the regular season. The officials have to work out some kinks in the preseason, too.