New Pass Interference Rule Utilized for First Time in HOF Game

NFL history was made on Thursday night, as the new pass interference rule was utilized for the first time.

The pass interference rule was enacted during the Hall of Fame game between the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons.

The new pass interference rule was announced by the NFL in June. It allows for a replay official to overrule a call when they deem an on-field call to be erroneous. The criteria for replay intervention is ‘clear and obvious visual evidence’. 

The change was called for following last season’s NFC Championship game between the LA Rams and the New Orleans Saints. Then, the Rams escaped punishment for contact made on Tommylee Lewis by Nickell Robey-Coleman.

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As a result, the Saints took a field rather than a first down. They ultimately lost the game in overtime. 

The first instance of the proposed solution to this issue occurred with 3.19 left in the second quarter of the HOF game.

An inaccurate Kurt Benkert pass towards WR Russell Gage fell short. However, Broncos linebacker Linden Stephens was ruled to have interfered with Gage. 

Broncos coach Vic Fangio called for defensive pass interference. After a relatively short review, the on-field decision was upheld. The Falcons were awarded first-and-10 from the Broncos 36 yard line.

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Although the call went against him, Fangio got what he wanted in a piece of NFL history of his own.

“I didn’t have a great look at it. Obviously it was on the other sideline,” Fangio said after the game. 

“But they did say it stands, so it was pretty close. They didn’t say confirmed.

“I’d made the statement that I was going to throw the first challenge flag for a PI, and a couple guys were challenging me to do it there, so I did it.”