Here's What the NFL Should Do With the Defensive Pass Interference Penalty
By Kyle Koster
The NFL could consider a proposal from the Competition Committee that would change defensive pass interference from a spot foul to a 15-yard maximum penalty, according to the NFL Network’s Judy Battista. The universal 15-yard punishment is in place for the college game and would have a significant impact going forward.
Throwing up a prayer and hoping for DPI has evolved into a go-to strategy in the NFL because it pays dividends. Two good things can happen — a completion or penalty — and those results far outweigh the risks of an incompletion or de facto 45-yard punt via interception.
The 266 defensive pass interference fouls in 2107 resulted in an average of 18.1 yards of penalty yardage. The 105 offensive pass interference resulted in an average of 4.3 yards.
This idea has been floating around for some time and hasn’t had the steam to make it over the finish line. Should that change (and that’d be great) I’d hope the NFL would consider adding another wrinkle for plays deemed to be clear attempts at impeding on open-path touchdowns. I’d love to see a red card/yellow card approach a la soccer that allows egregious and cynical DPI to be spot fouls per the official’s discretion.