Starting next season, NFL referees are allowed and expected to review penalties such as roughing the passer or facemask using video evidence. This is long overdue – but the league must avoid making a mistake. A commentary.

Whether it’s roughing the passer, facemask or horse collar tackle, when these penalties are called in the NFL, they usually hurt a lot.

Not only for the player who is allegedly fouled, but also for the team that has to accept the penalty. 15 yards and an automatic first down are awarded to the other team. Until now, flags were always thrown firmly.

That has now changed: at the annual meeting of NFL owners, the owners decided to allow the video referee to intervene in the future. What should actually be a matter of course has now been introduced! A step that was long overdue.

NFL – Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs show: Review is urgently needed

The fact that the video referee has to be consulted in such situations is shown by last year’s discussions about the Kansas City Chiefs alone.

The narrative was often spread that the Chiefs would be favored by referee decisions. Of course, this is grossly exaggerated and many penalties are still factual decisions, but it can only serve fairness.

It damages the league when such narratives are spread. But aside from the Chiefs, Roughing the Passer is a particularly controversial topic. Often, even analysts, some of whom are former quarterbacks and defensive ends, are at a loss for words when it comes to penalties. Hopefully this will now be a thing of the past!

NFL must not make the same mistake as with pass interference penalty

However, memories of 2019 are coming back. At that time, the team owners decided on a similar process.

After the NFC Championship Game 2018 between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams was decided by a clear, overlooked pass interference call, the NFL owners agreed to make this penalty reviewable by video officials.

However, the decision degenerated into a farce. Even the clearest pass interference calls were not reversed in order to stick to correcting only clear miscalls. But the hurdle was far too high.

It is reminiscent of the German leagues, in which no consistency or consistency can be seen in VAR decisions.

The NFL is actually much further ahead in these processes – that must be recognizable in the 2025 season.