Section 3: Reviewable Plays
As a general rule, the position of the ball in relation to the goal line is always reviewable by instant replay.
ARTICLE 1. Reviewable plays involving a potential score include:
a. A potential touchdown or safety. [Exception: Safety by penalty for fouls that are not specifically reviewable.]
b. Field goal attempts if and only if the ball is ruled (a) below or above the crossbar or (b) inside or outside the uprights when it is lower than the top of the uprights. If the ball is higher than the top of the uprights as it crosses the end line, the play may not be reviewed.
ARTICLE 2. Reviewable plays involving passes include:
a. Pass ruled complete, incomplete or intercepted anywhere in the field of play or an end zone.
b. Forward pass touching the ground or touched by a player (eligible or ineligible) or an official, including whether the touching is beyond or behind the line of scrimmage.
c. Forward pass or forward handing when a ball carrier is or has been beyond the neutral zone.
d. A forward pass or forward handing after a change of team possession.
e. Pass ruled forward or backward.
1. If the pass is ruled forward and is incomplete, the play is reviewable only if: The ball goes out of bounds; there is clear recovery of a loose ball in the immediate continuing action; or there is confirmation of the recovery by the officials on the field. If the replay official does not have clear and obvious video evidence as to which team recovers or the ball going out of bounds, the ruling of incomplete pass is upheld.
2. If the replay official overturns an incomplete forward pass ruling and the ball is recovered, it belongs to the recovering team at the spot of the recovery and any advance is nullified.
f. Location of the ball when it is obviously in the field of play or in the end zone and there is a ruling of intentional grounding on the field.
ARTICLE 3. Reviewable plays involving potential dead balls and loose balls include:
a. Loose ball by a potential passer ruled a fumble.
b. Loose ball by a passer ruled incomplete forward pass when there is clear recovery or the ball goes out of bounds in the immediate continuing action after the loose ball.
1. If the replay official does not have clear and obvious video evidence as to which team recovers, does not have confirmation of the recovery by the officials on the field, or the ball going out of bounds, the ruling of incomplete pass is upheld.
2. If the replay official rules fumble and the ball is recovered, the ball belongs to the recovering team at the spot of the recovery and any advance is nullified.
c. Live ball not ruled dead in possession of a ball carrier.
d. Loose ball ruled dead (Rule 4-1-2b-2), or live ball ruled dead in possession of a ball carrier, when the clear recovery of a loose ball occurs in the immediate continuing football action.
1. If the ball is ruled dead and the replay official does not have clear and obvious video evidence as to which team recovers or confirmation of the recovery by the officials on the field, the dead- ball ruling is upheld.
2. If the replay official rules that the ball was not dead, it belongs to the recovering team at the spot of the recovery and any advance is nullified.
3. If a passer is ruled down or out of bounds prior to throwing a pass and the replay official has clear and obvious video evidence that the ball was released prior to the dead ball ruling, replay can rule on the immediate continuing action. If the pass is caught by either team, they are awarded possession at that spot with no advance. If the pass is incomplete, the down counts.
e. Ball carrier's forward progress, spot of fumble, or spot of out-of- bounds backward pass, with respect to a first down or the goal line.
f. Catch or recovery of a fumble by a Team A player other than the fumbler before any change of possession during fourth down or a try.
g. Ball carrier in or out of bounds. If a ball carrier is ruled out of bounds, the play is not reviewable, except as in Rules 12-3-1a and 12-3-3d.
h. Catch, recovery or touching of a loose ball by a player inbounds or out of bounds, or an eligible receiver who had been out of bounds and returned inbounds.
i. A loose ball touching on or beyond a sideline, goal line, or end line, touching a pylon, or breaking the plane of a goal line.
j. Catch or recovery of a loose ball in the field of play or an end zone.
k. Forward fumble that goes out of bounds.
ARTICLE 4. Reviewable plays involving kicks include:
a. Touching of a kick.
b. Player is or has been beyond the neutral zone when kicking the ball.
c. Kicking team player advancing a ball after a potential muffed kick/fumble by the receiving team.
d. Scrimmage kick crossing the neutral zone.
e. Blocking by players of the kicking team before they are eligible to touch the ball on an on-side kick.
f. A player touching or recovering a kick or loose ball who is or has been out of bounds during the kick.
g. Receiving team advancing after a fair catch signal.
ARTICLE 5
a. The replay official shall review all targeting fouls, Rules 9-1-3 and 9-1-4. For a player to be disqualified and the Targeting foul to be enforced, all elements of a Targeting foul must be confirmed by the Instant Replay Official. If any element of Targeting cannot be confirmed, then the Replay Official shall overturn the targeting foul.
Targeting elements include:
a. A player takes aim at an opponent for the purposes of attacking with forcible contact with the crown of the helmet.
b. An indicator of targeting is present.
a. A defenseless opponent (Rule 2-27-14).
b. A player takes aim at a defenseless opponent for the purposes of attacking with forcible contact to the head or neck area.
c. An indicator of targeting is present.
The replay official may create a targeting foul from the booth when all elements of targeting can be confirmed and the foul is not called by the officials on the field. Such a review may not be initiated by a coach's challenge.
ARTICLE 6. Situations that may be addressed by the replay official:
a. The number of players on the field for either team during a live ball, or when there is a flag down for illegal substitution.
b. Clock adjustment and status when a ruling is reviewed and overturned anytime after the Two-Minute Timeout in the 2nd or 4th quarters.
c. Anytime after the Two-Minute Timeout in the 2nd or 4th quarters when a replay review results in the on-field ruling being overturned, and the correct ruling would not have stopped the game clock, then the clock will be reset to the time the ball is declared dead by replay. The referee will subtract 10 seconds from the game clock and the game clock will start on the referee's signal. Either team may use a team timeout to avoid the runoff.
d. Clock adjustment at the end of any quarter.
If the game clock expires at the end of any quarter, either during a down in which it should be stopped by rule through play when the ball becomes dead or after the down upon a request for an available team timeout, the replay official may restore time only under these conditions:
1. The replay official has clear and obvious video evidence that time should have remained on the game clock when the ball became dead or when the team timeout was granted.
2. If time expires in a half, and the clock would start on the Referee's signal after review, there must be at least 3 seconds remaining when the ball should have been declared dead to restore time to the clock. With 2 seconds or 1 second remaining on the clock, the half is over unless Team A has a time out remaining (This does not impact situations when the clock is stopped and will remain stopped until the snap such as an incomplete pass or a ball carrier out of bounds.).
3. In the fourth quarter only, to restore time, the score differential must be eight points or less (after a touchdown, all potential results of the try down must be considered).
4. The replay official's video evidence includes the timeout signal by an official in the case where the game clock should have stopped for a requested team timeout.
e. If there is clear video evidence that time expired at the end of any quarter prior to the ball being put into play, the replay official will end the period regardless of the outcome of the play. Personal or unsportsmanlike fouls must be enforced.
f. Correcting the number of a down.
1. This includes the result of a penalty enforcement that includes an automatic first down or loss of down.
2. The correction may be made at any time within that series of downs or before the ball is legally put in play after that series.
g. Any person who is not a player interfering with live-ball action occurring in the field of play (Rule 9-2-3).
h. An injured player at the initiation of the medical observer.
i. Fouls that carry 5-yard and 10-yard penalties are not enforced if the ruling is overturned and they become dead ball fouls.
j. Personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct fouls are always enforced, regardless of the outcome of a replay review.
Limitations on Reviewable Plays
ARTICLE 7. No other plays or officiating decisions are reviewable. However, the replay official may correct obvious errors that may have a significant impact on the outcome of the game, including those involving the game clock, whether or not a play is reviewable. This excludes fouls that are not specifically reviewable (See Article 8, following).
ARTICLE 8. The following plays are reviewable and the replay official may create a foul when there is no call by the on-field officials:
a. Player making a forward pass or forward handoff when the player's entire body and the ball is or has been beyond the neutral zone or after a change of possession (Rule 12-3-2c and 12-3-2d).
b. Player kicking the ball when the player's entire body and the ball is or has been beyond the neutral zone (Rule 12-3-4b).
c. Blocking by players of the kicking team before they are eligible to touch the ball on an onside kick (Rule 12-3-4e).
d. The number of players on the field for either team during a live ball or when there is a flag down for illegal substitution. (Rule 12-3-6a).
e. Illegal touching of a forward pass by an originally eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds or touching of a forward pass by an originally ineligible player (Rules 12-3-2b and 12-3-3h).
f. A player who is or has been out of bounds touching or recovering a kick or loose ball (Rule 12-3-4f).
g. Forward pass that becomes illegal as a second pass after an on-field ruling of a backward pass is overturned (Rule 12-3-2e).
h. A clear and obvious targeting foul (Rule 12-3-5b).
