Jets Get Unexpected Lift With Pass Interference Call in Win Over the Dolphins
First, it was not pass interference. Then it was.
The Dolphins were on the verge of winning. Then the Jets won.
The officials? They never win. One coach is always going to be mad at them.
The argument about pass interference and the inconsistency in which the NFL has handled it has been the hot button issue all season and one reversal Sunday decided the Dolphins-Jets game and will lead to even more arguments.
In a season where everything has seemingly gone wrong for the Jets - including their starting quarterback getting mono and missing three games - they finally caught a break.
A pass interference penalty was called on the Dolphins after a review - after no flag was thrown by the officials -the pivotal play to set up the game-winning field goal on the final play in Sunday’s 22-21 win over the Miami Dolphins.
On the final drive, the Jets went 49 yards on seven plays in just 1:33, quarterback Sam Darnold calmly leading the Jets into position, with the help of the PI reversal, to set up Sam Ficken’s 44-yard field goal as time expired. Three plays after Darnold got the drive rolling by linking up with wide receiver Vyncint Smith for a 37-yard toss-and-run that brought the ball to Miami’s 38-yard line, the drive seemingly got stalled two plays later when Darnold took a bad sack that lost eight yards. Then the Jets got an unexpected kick-start.
On the play after the sack and with 47 seconds left, what was ruled an incomplete pass on third-and-18 was overturned upon review at league headquarters. Defensive pass interference by Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham kept the Jets in business. Miami coach Brian Flores was livid on the sidelines. Four plays later, Ficken’s field goal gave the Jets the win, improving their record to 5-8.
Replays showed that Needham made contact with Smith prior to the Jets wide receiver reaching up for Darnold’s pass. The call for pass interference upon review sustained the Jets drive and put them in position to kick the winning field goal. Because it was in the final two minutes, it was out of the jurisdiction of a coach's challenge.
Senior Vice President of Officiating Al Riveron told a pool reporter following the game that after review, “It was clear and obvious that the receiver did get significantly hindered prior to the ball getting there.”
“Sure. So, by rule, under two minutes all reviews are done in the booth and/or here in New York. We see in the line feed some contact. We look at it. It rises to the level – in the line feed – where we have to stop the game and look at it,” Riveron told the pool reporter.
“After we look at it, we get a couple of replays which show us that it’s clear and obvious that the defender grabs the receiver by his shoulder, turns him prior to the ball getting there, and significantly hinders him before the ball arrives. Therefore, by rule, that’s defensive pass interference. We bring the referee over. We look at it. We confer. We all agree. Therefore, we changed the ruling on the field and we put a flag down for defensive pass interference.”
Flores slammed his head phones to the ground after the call was changed. After the game, he continued to yell at the referees about the reversal of the call.
A transcript of the pool reporter’s questions to Riveron was distributed by the Jets following the game.
Following the game, Flores refused to weigh in on his obvious anger with the call.
“I’m not going to answer any questions about the officiating,” Flores told reporters at his post-game press conference.
