Referee Alex Kemp (55) and referee Tony Corrente (99) talks with other officials. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Watch: NFL replay officials miss clear muffed punt due to lack of 'enhanced video'

By Austen Bundy | Last updated 10/10/24

The San Francisco 49ers won their "Thursday Night Football" matchup against their division-rival Seattle Seahawks, but the Seahawks could have taken advantage of a huge momentum swing in the fourth quarter from a mistake by the officials.

San Francisco punted the ball away at the start of the fourth quarter and it appeared Seattle's returner, Dee Williams, may have touched the football without recovering it.

The refs threw a flag against San Francisco for kick-catch interference (which was eventually picked up) and did not call the muffed punt.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan challenged the play, upon which the broadcast replay clearly showed the ball touched Williams' finger. However, the play surprisingly stood and San Francisco was charged a timeout instead of regaining possession inside the redzone.

Later in the broadcast, "Thursday Night Football" officiating analyst Terry McAulay — who originally agreed the muff should've been called — said he was told by the NFL replay officials that they did not have Amazon Prime's "enhanced camera angle," which clearly showed the ball making contact with Williams' finger.

He added that the officials told him they did not see anything "clear and obvious" from the angles they had available to overturn the original call on the field.

Terry McAulay: They (the command center) did not get our enhanced video that we showed - the ball touching the finger. What they had was the raw feed from our cameras. And it was not clear and obvious to them that it touched the finger. pic.twitter.com/88GxRiHqru
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 11, 2024

The explanation is significant considering replay officials are supposed to have every angle available to them instantaneously, part of the league's "replay assist" program that launched in 2023 and has helped speed up reviews in real time.

Seattle ended up punting on the controversial possession and eventually lost the game, 36-24, but the egregious error will certainly be a talking point for the pundits on Friday morning.

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