NFL Officials Making Mockery of Turnover Replay Rules with Premature Whistles

The New York Jets went into halftime Monday night down 17-13 to the Chicago Bears.

The Jets could—and barring something unusual, should—have gone into the break with a 20-17 lead. The team has every right to be miffed that it didn't.

With just over a minute and a half remaining in the half, Jets linebacker David Harris sacked Bears quarterback Jay Cutler near midfield. The ball popped out on the play and was promptly scooped up by Jets linebacker Demario Davis with a clear path to the end zone.

However, officials blew an early whistle, incorrectly ruling Cutler down by contact. The play was reviewed and overturned, which was the correct action for the situation. The problem is that since the play was initially whistled dead, the would-be touchdown never occurred.

Prior to 2006, a down-by-contact call couldn't be reversed by replay review. It now can, but that does nothing to help a team when the play is blown dead on the field. 

By rule, the ball cannot be advanced by the recovering team on a turnover after a play is whistled dead. This is true even when replay review shows that the play should not have been blown dead in the first place.

Had the play not been whistled dead, the play still would have been reviewed and New York would have been awarded the score after it was determined Cutler was not actually down. Had Cutler actually been down by contact, review would have prevented the touchdown and the correct call still would have been made.

While the Jets were awarded possession of the football, they failed to score on the ensuing drive and completely missed out on what should have been a three-point halftime lead.

This is certainly not the first time a premature whistle has hurt a team.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain might have had a long touchdown return off an interception against the Tennessee Titans just last week. However, the play was originally, and incorrectly, whistled dead as an incompletion. Dallas challenged and was awarded the football, but the touchdown would never be.

"I was staring right at it and for them to blow the whistle on that one, when it should've been a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown was excruciating, to say the least." Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said of the call after the game.

In 2012, the Baltimore Ravens were robbed of a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals after a Will Demps fumble recovery was incorrectly blown dead after possession was established.

Officials later admitted they made a mistake on the call, but admitting a mistake doesn't rectify the situation.

You can bet that an apology won't be enough to make the Jets happy after the team wound up losing the game to the Bears by eight points. Football fans should be equally unhappy that these types of calls continue to cost teams opportunities for points.

Unless it is blatantly obvious that there is no turnover on a play, there should be no whistle. Officials have an obligation to do everything possible to make the right call on the field. This is especially true when replay won't do enough to fully correct an early mistake and when the play in question can change the course of a game.