The NFL’s command center may need to upgrade.
The league did not overturn a clear turnover by the Seahawks since it did not have the proper video showing a muffed punt return by Seattle during its 36-24 home loss to the 49ers.
The ball clearly hit Seattle’s Dee Williams fingertips before being recovered by San Francisco, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s challenge went for naught.
“Once we had the San Francisco challenge, we were looking to see if the returner did indeed touch the ball,” NFL vice president of replay training and development Mark Butterworth told the pool reporter. “We went through all available angles, and we get the raw feed from the truck. And there was not clear and obvious video evidence that the returner touched the ball.
“After looking at all available angles, we made the determination that we were going to stand on the call because there was not clear and obvious video evidence. Once Craig (Wrolstad) made his announcement and they came back from TV, the network had an enhanced shot that they did not send at all until after they played his announcement.”
Terry McAulay: They (the command center) did not get our enhanced video that we showed – the ball touching the finger. What they had was the raw feed from our cameras. And it was not clear and obvious to them that it touched the finger. pic.twitter.com/88GxRiHqru
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2024
It’s not often that the NFL blows a clear and obvious call that is not based on judgement — so pass interference does qualify here — and Thursday’s botch raises question about its review process.
