Bears want NFL to look at field goal block, so what happens next?

Posted by Admin November 19, 2024 NFL

The Chicago Bears indicated they would send video of the final play in Sunday’s 20-19 Packers win to the NFL, believing a flag should have been thrown on Green Bay’s pass rush over center when Karl Brooks blocked a potential game-winning field goal.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur responded to that revelation Monday, saying “I’ve seen a lot of plays where I thought a penalty should’ve been called, and it doesn’t happen, so I’ll leave it at that. I thought there were multiple plays in that game, it happens. That’s why I never want to leave it in the hands of the officials. You’ve got to stay out of those situations as best you can.”

So what exactly happens when a team submits video to the NFL?

It’s a far more common process than fans may realize. The NFL does not comment on communication with the clubs, but each week, teams can provide a list of plays for the NFL officiating staff to review and provide candid feedback on, in an effort to make sure coaches are clear on what is and what is not a foul. Coaches can convey that information to players. However, the league insists teams not reveal the contents of discussions between the NFL and the individual franchises.

In this case, Chicago coach Matt Eberflus believed there was contact with the long snapper, which is prohibited as a means of protecting a defenseless player.

Football Zebras, a popular website dedicated to understanding the rule book and discussing the nuanced adjudications of NFL football, indicated on its Sunday live blog that it did not feel the play merited a penalty and even hinted that Chicago may have been fishing for the call.

“…Until he has an opportunity to lift up and reset his posture, he may not be forcibly contacted in the head or neck area,” the site wrote of the snapper.

“You have Packers lineman Karl Brooks (#94) working his way through the A gap and his thigh contacts the center in the head. This is incidental to him attempting to move through the gap, so we can’t count this as forcible.

“It looks like the Bears are attempting to use the long snapper’s protection to get an extra advantage. The center doesn’t lift his head right away and the left guard seems to time and angle his block so that Brooks is pushed slightly out of the gap and into the center. Were they trying to get an unnecessary roughness call out of this? While the center never re-rights himself, it is not because a Packers lineman crashed down on his head.”

It probably goes without saying, but no NFL game outcome has ever been overturned after completion.

(This story was updated to add new information.)