As legal sports betting expands, so too should the NFL’s replay rules

That was very clear during Sunday’s AFC Championship game when call after call seemed to go against the Cincinnati Bengals and left fans calling the game rigged.

Ultimately, there were some simple explanations for why the Chiefs were allowed a mulligan on third down and why holding wasn’t called on Patrick Mahomes’ decisive scramble, leaving Bengals fan with just this late block in the back to complain about. But what happens when the officiating is lopsided in a game of this magnitude and things aren’t so easily explained away.

What if it happens in a Super Bowl?

It’s a question facing not just the NFL but sports leagues in general, especially with the explosion of legal sports betting. Referees are human, they make mistakes. They always have. But now those mistakes have the potential to leave fans with a raised eyebrow, because humans like money too.

Leagues would be wise to get ahead of this potential issue before the questions of match-fixing that already quietly exist bubble to the surface when there’s real stakes on the line. And I have one potential solution for the NFL: move all challenges to the booth and allow reviews of penalties.

Allowing the booth to initiate reviews is something the NFL already does in the final two minutes of every half and for all scoring plays and turnovers. It removes the responsibility of challenging plays from coaches and gives it to a replay official. Someone at the league’s officiating command center in New York can also initiate a review during those critical times.

I’ve been perplexed why the league hasn’t further expanded it to the entire game and to include penalties. Oftentimes, some of the most egregious plays we witness are blown penalties that can’t be reviewed. I’m sure you remember the Rams’ non-pass interference against the Saints in the 2019 NFC Championship.

Pre-streaming and internet, people might have seen these types of plays a few times before having to wait for them again on a highlight show, then waiting even more time to discuss them with friends the next day.

Now, everyone can see blown calls in real time on a constant high definition loop and voice their collective displeasure on social media. It’s a potential firestorm for a league that can easily avoid these scenarios with one simple fix; allow booth reviews of everything.

Of course, replay officials would need discretion. They shouldn’t just be reviewing every miniscule thing and making games much longer than they need to be. But when it’s a huge play that could potentially change the course of a game, and quite literally shift where millions of dollars might be going, there’s enough incentive to get it right.

If you want to keep the antiquated red flags on coaches in the event they want to challenge something the booth declines to review, fine. Continue to limit how many times that can be done. Otherwise, it’s now on the leagues to get these things right, because they’re the ones that decided to get in bed with the same sportsbook companies taking their fans’ money.