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By Joe Kozlowski
Sports Team Lead
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While some NFL owners prefer to play things close to the vest, Jim Irsay isn't afraid to stand out. This is the man, after all, who has a traveling collection of memorabilia and artifacts and performs in his own band. He's also prepared to speak his mind on social media, as we saw first-hand during the Jonathan Taylor trade request saga.
Well, now Irsay has grabbed the social media headlines again.
On Tuesday night, the Colts owner fired off a lengthy tweet, sharing a positive update about Anthony Richardson's surgery. Hidden below the "Show more" option, however, was something a bit more controversial. Irsay, in what appears to be a violation of NFL rules, revisited the penalties that cost his team the game on Sunday.
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Let's check it out.
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Irsay Says the NFL Admitted a Mistake
While questionable calls are simply part of life as a sports fan, some situations feel a bit more grievous than your average error. Sunday's Browns-Colts game was one of those.
In the final minutes of a competitive game, Cleveland was driving toward the end zone in a desperate attempt to erase a five-point deficit. Indy seemed to get the stop they needed, but an iffy illegal contact call negated a game-winning fumble.
That flag gave the Browns a fresh set of downs, but the drama was just beginning. When Cleveland QB P.J. Walker overthrew a pass to the end zone, the flags came out again. There was contact, but the ball was uncatchable, which should have wiped out any potential penalty. That, however, didn't happen. The call stood, Cleveland eventually punched the ball into the end zone and Indy couldn't produce a miracle in the dying seconds.
The calls seemed questionable, if not downright wrong at the time. And now, according to the Colts' owner, the NFL has acknowledged that fact.
As mentioned, Irsay took to social media on Tuesday night to share a two-part update. After addressing Anthony Richardson's surgery—apparently things have gone well, but there's no target date for the QB's return—he turned to Sunday's penalties.
"The NFL admits and understands that they did not make the correct calls at end of Sunday's Colts/Browns Game," Irsay wrote. "I believe we need to institute Instant Replay for all calls, including Penalties, in the last two minutes of All Games."
And if you thought that Roger Goodell and company wouldn't be happy about an owner breaking that news on his own X (formerly Twitter) account, it does seem like Irsay violated a league rule.
As Tom Pelissero noted, "The NFL communicates with teams on a weekly basis about various calls. Team officials are prohibited from commenting publicly on those discussions."
Irsay's Suggestion Might Not Make a Difference
Setting aside Irsay's potential violation of NFL rules, his suggestion for expanded reviews within the final minutes of a game does make sense. The fact that there are no coach's challenges within the last two minutes suggests an understanding that end-of-game situations are crucial; those moments shouldn't be defined by whether someone throws the challenge flag or not.
With that being said, though, we've seen evidence that reviewing penalties isn't the magic bullet.
In 2019, the NFL allowed coaches to challenge pass interference calls following an infamous blown call during the postseason. That setup only lasted for a single season, though. The reviews were largely ineffective—only 13 of 81 checks changed the call on the field—and the effort faded after a single season.
Whether you want to tie the lack of success to the NFL's rules—tying things to a "clear and obvious" standard creates, rather than eliminates, ambiguity—or the fact that referees are human beings, the reviews clearly didn't work.
And, with all respect to Irsay, having automatic booth reviews rather than coach's challenges probably wouldn't change things.
But in light of the officiating at the end of the Browns-Colts game, you can't blame him for trying.
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