2020 Super Bowl: What are NFL challenge rules?
How challenges work in the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl head coaches Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid will be forced to make incredibly difficult split-second decisions on Sunday night during Super Bowl LIV, and deciding whether or not to throw a challenge flag could have a major influence on the outcome of the game. How do challenges work in the Super Bowl, and what are coaches allowed to challenge? We’re here to help.
Each head coach begins the game with two challenges, but that number can increase if both challenges are successful. To challenge a ruling, the coach must throw a red flag onto the field before the next snap. If a team that is considering a challenge commits a penalty that delays the next snap – a delay of game, for example – the team is not allowed to challenge the previous ruling.
Via the NFL rulebook:
The Head Coach may challenge on-field rulings listed in Section 3, except for those plays that only the Replay Official can challenge (Article 2).
Each challenge requires an available team timeout. A team that is out of timeouts, or has used all its available challenges, may not attempt to initiate a challenge.
A team that initiates a challenge when the team is not permitted to challenge will be charged a team timeout.
If a challenge is unsuccessful, the team will be charged a timeout.
A team will be permitted a third challenge if it is successful on both of its challenges. A fourth challenge will not be permitted.
What rulings can be reviewed?
There is a long list of plays that can be reviewed – you can see the full list here if you search for “reviewable rulings” – so it may be easier to list what rulings cannot be challenged.
The following aspects of plays are not reviewable:
Whether an erroneous whistle sounded; Whether a ball was illegally batted or kicked; Whether a passer intentionally grounded a pass; Whether an ineligible receiver was downfield before a pass; Whether a receiver was illegally contacted; The spot of a loose ball crossing the sideline; Whether a block was illegal; and Any aspect of a play not listed as reviewable in Section 3 of this Rule.When is there an automatic review?
In certain situations, coaches are not allowed to challenge rulings, and the review is instead initiated by a replay official. Here are those scenarios:
that begins after the two-minute warning of each half; throughout any overtime period; when points are scored by either team; that is a Try attempt (successful or unsuccessful); and when on-field officials rule: an interception by an opponent; a fumble or backward pass recovered by an opponent or that goes out of bounds through the opponent’s end zone; a scrimmage kick touched by the receiving team and recovered by the kicking team; or a disqualification of a player.