The XFL adopted an unprecedented rule that allowed a head coach to challenge anything he wanted to challenge, once per game.
In the wake of XFL 3.0’s first weekend, MDS made an interesting point about this modification to the challenge run.
If the NFL had this rule — and if Eagles head coach Nick Siriani hadn’t used the challenge before during Super Bowl LVII — he might have thrown the flag after James Bradbury was called out for a defensive bunt late in the fourth quarter. Visual evidence would have shown that the call was correct, the umpire would have stayed, the Eagles would have lost a timeout, and the argument over the call would have been less spirited.
Surely, some were still complaining that the officials didn’t name similar fouls throughout the game. (I’m still waiting for someone to send clips of cases of unwarranted defensive holding a clear jersey pulling defensive back.) But Siriani’s ability to challenge the play, and the reviewer’s decision that the call was correct, would have diminished the sting.
Of course, this would have led to more people complaining about poor playing conditions.
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