According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, such calls reviewed by the replay review assistant must still be within objective parameters - such as whether a quarterback was hit in the head during a roughing call or whether the QB was out of bounds when intentionally throwing a foul.
During the 2023 NFL season, almost every week there was at least one game with a controversial roughing call that replay showed was a legal hit by a defensive player. Such penalties drew more and more criticism from fans, media and former NFL players, which made this rule change mandatory for next season.
Intentional foul penalties have also come under criticism, particularly in the Week 9 game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals when a controversial call cost the Bills a potential field goal.
A review of previous rulings recalls the 2019 NFL season when pass interference penalties could be replayed. However, that rule change was deemed unsuccessful after one season due to too few pass interference penalties being overturned after review and was halted after only one season.
