Texans' Bill O'Brien discusses unsuccessful challenge, officiating
Aaron Wilson , Houston Chronicle Oct. 13, 2019
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the NFL decided to allow instant replay challenges of pass interference, it was intended to avoid controversial debacles like the bad no-call in the NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams.
Instead of clearing things up, though, it's had the opposite effect as NFL coaches are having to adapt to what different officiating crews think about pass interference infractions.
Texans coach Bill O'Brien was irate on the sideline when what appeared to be an obvious illegal pick play by tight end Travis Kelce wasn't flagged. Damian Williams gained 52 yards and the Texans wanted an offensive pass interference penalty one minute into a 31-24 win Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. However, the play was upheld and the Texans were charged a timeout.
"I think it changes from crew to crew," O'Brien said. "Not many challenges have been overturned. I felt like there was a pick at the beginning of the game and it was a 52-yard pass play versus a high-scoring offense. So, I felt like that was an important challenge even though it was one minute into the game.
"That was a big gain, and if we could back them up there, then I felt that there was a pick, but they didn't. So, we have to look at that and we have to figure it out. It doesn't matter really in the end what we think. We have to understand what they're thinking."
O'Brien was asked what he would tell his players about the penalties and how the game is being called.
"We have to look at them and we have to be able to study them and we have to be able to show our players kind of what they are calling," O'Brien said. "You can stand up here and you can complain or you can really understand how the game is being officiated. I think the more we can understand it and our players can understand how the game is being officiated then we are going to be better for it."