PFWA Pool Reporter Todd Archer Interview with NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Question: Can you kind of walk us through the protocol on how replay assist can get involved in that roughing the punter play?
Butterworth: When there is a flag thrown for roughing the punter, we clear the play to make sure that the ball wasn’t tipped. We can use replay assist to pick up the flag when we have clear and obvious video evidence that the player that committed the foul touched the ball prior to making contact with the punter.
Also, more importantly, the defense can always challenge that the ball was tipped prior to contact. Now, what happened was, I think a play or two later, TV showed an enhanced shot, which they can do. We don’t have access to that enhanced shot until they show it. By then, it was too late. If we would have had that shot previously, we would have been able to assist prior to the ball being snapped.
Question: And so, if the Cowboys had seen that, they could have challenged the play as well?
Butterworth: Yes. The defense, the Dallas Cowboys, could have challenged it at any point and we would have stopped to look at it and by stopping to look at it, we probably would have gotten an enhanced shot from broadcast that would show that the ball was indeed tipped.
Question: Is there any way that the officials on the field could talk to each other if one guy thought it might have been tipped or not? Do they go through that situation?
Butterworth: The crew could have communication just to say, “Hey, check to see if the ball was tipped.” Even then, for us to replay assist, we would need clear and obvious video evidence, which we didn’t have until, again, the broadcast partner sent an enhanced view. I think it was a play or two later.
Question: Just to be clear, if FOX had shown the replay sooner, then there likely would not have been a roughing the punter call?
Butterworth: Correct. Their enhanced shot showed that the ball was tipped prior to contact to the punter by the fouling player.
