The year in NFL officiating was marked by more than the usual number of complaints about missed calls, bad calls and replay interpretations. It was stacked with unprecedented administration brought on by the largest number of rule changes, amid the highest degree of referee turnover, in recent memory.
The NFL competition committee manipulated the new helmet rule, roughing the passer and offensive holding in-season. The league office fired an official for the first time in its modern era, and it moved away from an assignment system that spread officials evenly among teams and games.