NFL virtual measurement and more Bills-Jaguars ref questions after AFC Wild Card

The Buffalo Bills held on for dear life and won. Sean McDermott owes Josh Allen a little more than the six-year, $330 million contract he signed just last offseason. Allen has proven time and time again that he is the best quarterback in the NFL. He overcomes mistakes, whether they're made by his own coaching staff or the officials.

The sad aspect of NFL refs is that not every team has an Allen. So, when mistakes are made that hurt, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars, they do not have an MVP candidate who can make up the difference. When the Jaguars are supposedly screwed over by a rule that ought to help them, it hurts a little extra.

What is the NFL virtual measurement, and how can they use it?

The NFL's partnership with Sony-Hawkeye helped quite a bit in the AFC Wild Card game between the Bills and Jaguars. Essentially, the NFL uses 8K cameras around the field to determine the spot of the football. While the chain gang is still part of the process, they are only the deciding factor when there is intense fog or snow. Here's what The Athletic had to say about the league's sudden change of pace prior to this season.

"In a partnership with Sony’s Hawk-Eye, which also provides technology for coaches’ headsets and replay services, the NFL’s primary measurement of first downs is now done virtually. Six 8K cameras have been installed along one side of each NFL stadium to optically track the ball’s position,"Jayna Bardahl wrote.

Head coaches can also challenge the Hawk-Eye system when they believe it's justified. That happened in Sunday's game between the Bills and Jags, when Sean McDermott though Trevor Lawrence was short of the first down.

Much like AI, the virtual measurement system isn't perfect. Lawrence's leg appeared to be down before he reached the first down marker. Thus, the Bills won their challenge and took over on downs. Had the Jaguars gotten that first down, they couldn't gone up 14-3, which would've made a major impact on the end result.

More questionable calls: Tony Romo and a Jaguars snap count

For the most part, the officiating crew avoided disaster minus the virtual measurement snafu. If anything, CBS should be embarrassed by how they handled rather routine decisions. In the first half, a catch was overturned by the officials, yet Tony Romo nearly started a fight on the Bills behalf.

That, uh, very clearly hit the ground, Tony. The days of Romo calling out plays before they happen are behind him. The league passes all of us by, and Romo has yet to adjust.

The Bills were also offsides on a play near the end of the first half. The clock initially hit triple zeroes, but the officials corrected the call, giving Jacksonville a second to kick a field goal. We usually call this column Ball Don't Lie, and there's a reason for that. The Jaguars kicker, Brad Little, missed the field goal under pressure.

That was...borderline. Yet, the fact that I don't have more to say about the officials is a good thing. Most of the time when NFL Playoff games are highlighted on this site, the officiating is bad. In this case, they got most of the calls right.

The human element of the game will always matter. Officials are asked to make snap decisions on a regular basis. When it mattered most for the Bills and Jaguars, they stayed out of the way. That in itself deserves an article and pat on the back.

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