Last night’s Ravens-Chargers game featured a key moment when a penalty for pass interference was wiped out.
Ravens defensive back Brandon Stephens seemed to make more than incidental contact with Chargers receiver Joshua Palmer. The official standing just a few feet from the action threw the flag. After a caucus, the flag was picked up.
Referee Carl Cheffers provided no explanation, during or after the game. There was speculation on the broadcast that the pass was deemed to be uncatchable. But that wasn’t mentioned by Cheffers.
It’s one thing for an official on the other side of the field to see something the official who had the closest view missed. In this case, someone else saw something that was used to persuade the official who had the closest view to change his mind.
When that happens, it’s critical that it be explained. And if it’s not explained during the game, it needs to be explained in a post-game pool report.
Pool reports happen on request. One of the reporters present at the game must initiate the process by requesting it. If it’s not requested it doesn’t happen.
But why aren’t referees available to reporters after every game? Not every member of the crew. Just the referee. That creates an opportunity for interested reporters to scour their notes and they pose any potentially relevant questions.
In this age of widespread legalized gambling, the NFL should stop hiding referees. They need to be available to explain and to defend their decisions. Or their decisions that became different decisions.
Defensive pass interference is the most consequential penalty in the game. Massive amounts of field position can shift, in an instant. Last night, the Chargers would have gone from the Baltimore 48 to inside the five. Instead, the Chargers faced fourth and 18.
If the penalty flag hadn’t been picked up, the Chargers could have cut a 14-point deficit to seven — with more than six minutes to play and still three timeouts.
The moment was too big for Cheffers to simply declare that there was no foul for pass interference. Everyone needed to hear more then. And everyone needed to hear more after the game, through a pool report.
That kind of transparency needs to become a standard part of the game.
