Rams Withdraw Two Narrow Rule Proposals on Backward Passes and Replay Timing

Overview

• The Rams formally pulled two proposals prompted by Seattle’s Week 16 two-point conversion, removing them from the upcoming owners’ agenda.
• One proposal would have treated certain backward passes as fumbles in limited situations—fourth downs, inside two minutes, and on conversion attempts.
• The second proposal sought a 40-second limit to initiate replay review, a response to the more than 100-second delay before the Week 16 review began.
• The contested play involved a deflected Sam Darnold pass ruled a backward pass and recovered in the end zone by Zach Charbonnet, with league awareness of the review aided by Prime Video analyst Terry McAulay contacting NFL rules official Walt Anderson.
• Rams president Kevin Demoff criticized the outcome in a public post, while reports suggested the proposals were withdrawn due to uncertain support needed from at least 24 of 32 owners.