Whether you win despite them or lose because of them, it's never a fun Monday morning when an NFL team can point to the officiating to explain their last game's outcome.
Far too often, the referees want television time, so they make a game about themselves by throwing flag after flag, even phantom penalties, which change the trajectory of a game. That's happened to the Patriots this season, and it could easily have happened against the Dolphins this past Sunday if not for Mike Vrabel throwing the challenge flag and the crew in New York.
Bad calls or missed penalties are bad enough as it is, but when a call on the field could be explained only by the referee being blind, that might be even worse.
That was the case for the Patriots on Kyle Williams' impressive 43-yard touchdown in the third quarter, which was ruled an incomplete pass because he lost the football after crossing the plane.
In real time, it was clear it was a touchdown, but for some reason, the officiating crew had to huddle up and determined it wasn't. Because of that, Mike Vrabel quickly and assertively threw the challenge flag to midfield, which might have saved the game for the Patriots.
Mike Vrabel on why he threw the challenge flag as far as he did:
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) November 2, 2026
"I was a lot more certain than the officials were the first time they called it."
-@CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/9ptSv0F5SI
Although the call worked out in the end for the Patriots, it's the fact that the officiating crew on hand, who were seemingly punished by the league for how poorly they called last week's matchup between the Packers and the Lions.
The Patriots-Dolphins game was supposed to have Shawn Hochuli’s crew call it, but they were moved to Sunday Night Football as of Thursday night.
This is the kind of last-minute decision that, despite the league's insistence that Moore's crew wasn't being punished, stemmed from their questionable performance last week, which kept them out of primetime and instead put them in Miami.
The NFL needs to have a better explanation about their last-minute officiating change for the Patriots' game
As we've seen over the years, the NFL isn't known for transparency in its decisions, especially regarding referees, and it's almost certain the Patriots will never get clarity about why the initial officiating crew was taken off the game.
But the league should provide a better explanation for what could have been a game-changing decision by the referees, who they decided were better suited to officiate the Patriots' game than those they initially named.
Their response to questions about the Williams' touchdown didn't make matters any better, so Roger Goodell should address the situation with the Patriots organization as soon as possible.
Pool report, via @Marcel_LJ, on Kyle Williams’ TD after replay review, and Pop Douglas’ fourth-down catch initialed ruled short of the line to gain also overturned. pic.twitter.com/0Wm24Ur6pW
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 2, 2026
Will that happen? Probably not, especially since it's the Patriots we're talking about, and Goodell is known for not playing fair when it comes to New England.
However, a last-minute switch like this should warrant a clear explanation for any involved team, especially when that crew's poor performance could have altered the game's outcome.
It's certainly not something the Patriots should count on, and they're lucky that the mishandling of Williams' play and any other questionable penalty didn't ultimately lead to a loss. Otherwise, this would be a much bigger deal on Monday morning.
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