Missed calls aplenty, and the NFL is looking for fixes

More because the questioning of the competence of the officials began, literally, on opening day with a flurry of unflagged hits to the head of the reigning MVP, Cam Newton, and continued, in some form, virtually every week, without a stop.

Phantom pass interference calls have been as common as unflagged hits to the head, the likes of which sent Newton to the commissioner's office to discuss.

There were petty calls for hugging refs (Earl Thomas) and throwing towels (Travis Kelce got ejected ), all underscored by a flurry of flags for celebrations that grew more subversive the harder the NFL tried to curb them.

"The scrutiny and the attention are at an all-time high on anything related to NFL, and that is a very positive thing," said Dean Blandino, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating.

The NFL should consider changing its long-held rule on penalizing pass interference at the spot of the foul in favor of the more lenient college rule, which calls for only a 15-yard penalty.

The con to this is that it would now pay for a badly beaten defensive back to dive and tackle a receiver who was breaking open for a sure touchdown.

Among the misses: a pair of questionable spots with the Texans trying to gain short yardage to keep a potentially go-ahead drive going.

The league is looking into technology already used in soccer: inserting a chip into the football that would help officials locate the ball and make more accurate spots.

Players get in the way, it doesn't tell us if the knee is down, and there are other factors that play into it that you don't have in, say, tennis or soccer.

The (competition) committee is really focused on not taking the spontaneous emotion out of the play," Blandino said, "and not take away that collegial feeling with the fans in the stadium.