The Chicago Bears were able to pull within a 14-10 margin of the Miami Dolphins at halftime, and it was helped along by the league’s “expedited review” rule.
Cairo Santos blasted through a 57-yard field goal at the horn to get the Bears closer to the Dolphins at the break, but the play before that had set things up for Chicago.
On the play, Tyson Bagent found rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III for a gain of 13 yards, but as Burden hit the sideline, the clock had hit zero at Soldier Field, apparently ending the first half.
However, an NFL rule being referred to as “expedited review” was cited as helping the Bears out on the play.
Game clock administration, penalty enforcement, possession of a loose ball and late hits were all already among things that the NFL officiating department has been able to help referees with during games, and have been since the 2021 season. That came in handy for the Bears, as one second was put back on the clock for the field goal without the referee having to look at the monitor to determine the proper time remaining.
This season however, the rule was expanded to include a slew of penalties that can be looked at. Among the new elements that review can look at is roughing the passer, intentional grounding, unnecessary roughness, and facemask penalties. The Dolphins earlier in the game were assessed a facemask penalty, but the “expedited review” process quickly overturned it during a commercial break.
The league-initiated review of the clock later allowed Santos to boot through a 57-yard field goal to make it a 14-10 game at the break, with the Dolphins getting the ball to start the second half.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
