NFL: Officials used replay assistance to pick up flag for ineligible man downfield, not holding

Yes, the NFL’s replay assistance system helped pick up a flag that would have wiped out a touchdown last night.

No, the system was not used improperly.

After a 15-yard screen pass from Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to running back Rico Dowdle resulted in six points for Dallas, a flag was spotted on the field. The flag was picked up. Al Michaels correctly observed that replay assistance was used.

But the foul wouldn’t have been for holding. Per the NFL, the tentative call was ineligible man downfield. And while replay assistance cannot be used to wipe out a holding foul, it can be used to erase a finding of ineligible man downfield.

Specifically, replay assistance is available when it comes to the “location of the football or a player in relation to a boundary line, the line of scrimmage, the line to gain, the goal line, or the pocket area.”

The video seems to confirm this. The flag appears to be thrown by the official standing on the line of scrimmage, in response to an offensive lineman possibly heading downfield to block too early.

Kirk Herbstreit speculated that it was a holding foul. The referee, in explaining the situation, did not specify what the foul was for.

So the replay assistance process wasn’t used improperly. That doesn’t mean it never is; in this case, it was not.