It seems as though each passing year brings greater scrutiny for the NFL upon its officiating, and they don’t always help matters when they make high-profile rule-changes, whether well-intended or not, that ultimately prove to be poorly implemented. The decision last season to allow pass interference to be reviewable proved to be a dismal failure because it was executed poorly, and the league appears to have abandoned it already.
With the legalization of gambling on sports, it is all the more imperative that the NFL projects an image that its officiating is reliable and credible, because there is the possibility that they could subject themselves to lawsuits if egregious officiating errors affect the outcomes of games.