What is replay assist? Rule change helped officials get call right on Austin Hooper TD in Titans vs. Packers

David Suggs

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What is replay assist? Rule change helped officials get call right on Austin Hooper TD in Titans vs. Packers image

Everybody needs a little help sometimes. Even NFL referees.

On the first play of the fourth quarter in Thursday's Titans vs. Packers game, Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill fired a pass into the end zone for tight end Austin Hooper. Hooper came down with the ball but then had it ripped away by Green Bay safety Rudy Ford, who got up and briefly ran down the sideline.

The officials initially ruled the play an incomplete pass, but it quickly became evident on replay that Hooper had brought the ball in cleanly and a touchdown should have been awarded.

It didn't take the officials long to rectify their mistake. In fact, Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel didn't even have to drop his challenge flag.

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That's because replay officials in New York advised the crew in Green Bay that the on-the-field call was wrong. It was promptly overturned, and Hooper and the Titans were awarded six points for their trouble.

The 16-yard TD gave Tennessee a two-score lead in an eventual 27-17 victory at Lambeau Field.

What is replay assist in the NFL?

Replay assist, officially known as the Replay Assistance Rule, is a procedure that affords the league's officials opportunities to overturn obviously incorrect on-field calls — either from the replay booth or league headquarters in New York.

Prior to the 2021 season, when the league's replay rule was expanded, replay officials were only able to advise their on-field counterparts when a review was permitted.

Now, video officials can help on-field officials make the correct call in a number of other situations, including:

  • Penalty enforcement
  • Confirmation of the proper down
  • Spot of a foul
  • Game clock administration
  • Possession of a loose ball
  • Complete or incomplete pass
  • Loose ball touching a boundary line, goal line, or end line
  • Location of the football or a player in relation to a boundary line, line of scrimmage, line to gain, or goal line
  • Player down by contact (when not ruled down on the field)

(Source: NFL Football Operations.)

There needs to be "clear and obvious video evidence" to overturn a call.

The league's expansion of the replay rule played a pivotal role in Hooper scoring a touchdown that in previous years may have incorrectly stayed an incompletion — assuming Vrabel didn't challenge the play, which he was poised to do Thursday.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.