In Broncos-Panthers, replay was used to determine whether replay should be used
NBC Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- In the Broncos-Panthers game, Denver coach Sean Payton successfully used the replay challenge to overturn an incompletion into an interception, aided by NFL officials' review of the timing of the challenge flag.
- The NFL also used replay to verify that Payton threw the red challenge flag before the next snap, allowing the challenge to be permitted under league rules.
- NFL V.P. of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained that replay can be used to confirm whether a coach properly activated the replay process, even though this is not explicitly stated in the rulebook.
- The NFL relies on a broad interpretation of Rule 15, Section 9, which allows replay officials to provide information on the correct application of rules, including whether a challenge was timely.
- This case highlights that replay can be used to determine the validity of a replay challenge itself, effectively allowing replay to decide if replay should be used.
