Adrian Peterson calls out NFL for blatant missed Rams penalty

Seattle Seahawks running back Adrian Peterson joins a chorus of voices criticizing the NFL for a missed penalty call that aided the Los Angeles Rams in win.

Another year, another missed Rams pass interference call that could have cost a team the game.

https://twitter.com/SONTSeattle/status/1474052015659618306

A win or loss in football can hardly ever be chalked up to one particular play, but there are key moments that can shift momentum in a game. If the Saints had been able to challenge the blatant pass interference penalty, it could have been them in the 2018 Super Bowl — and perhaps Drew Brees would have earned another Lombardi.

The situation is not as dire for the Seahawks, but another crushing loss for the 5-9 team represents another cruel blow in confidence. And when the referees failed to call pass interference when Ernest Jones slapped down his arm between DeeJay Dallas’ waiting arms, it ruined what would have been a surefire reception. The refs did nothing, the Seahawks struggled to score, and the game ended three minutes later at 10-20. Whether or not the Seahawks would have ultimately won the game is unknown, but what is known is that the footage reveals another blatant missed Rams call.

And NFL veteran Adrian Peterson finds it heartbreaking.

In an Instagram post, Peterson pleaded for a solution that would allow NFL officiating teams to be held accountable for mistakes that could “literally change the outcome of games.”

“It’s heartbreaking when my sons, who flat out love the game of football, look at me teary eyed asking… ‘Dad why are they not making the right calls?!'” Peterson wrote. “‘Do they just want the Rams to win?'”

Adrian Peterson and his sons question NFL officiating with blatant missed Rams penalty

The NFL faced such intense scrutiny from the missed Saints call that the league agreed to experiment with allowing teams to challenge missed pass interference calls. The league failed to overturn calls through the first half of the 2019 season. Through the first nine weeks of 2019, only five PI calls out of 56 reviews were overturned by replay. About 90 percent of the calls were upheld. Ironically, one of the few overturned calls was against none other than the New Orleans Saints.

By 2020, the NFL did away with the rule, with Saints head coach Sean Payton admitting that NFL officials “weren’t ready to handle” what could have been a “successful” rule.

Earlier this spring, the NFL also passed a rule that allows replay officials in the booth to “advise” referees on the field. However, the replay officials do not have the authority to overturn calls based on what they see in replays.

What these rules demonstrate is that NFL officiating is deeply flawed, as there seems to be little interest in allowing anyone to justifiably overturn missed penalties that shape the outcome of a game.