Does the NFL Need to Fix the "underthrown deep ball pass Interference" situation 

If the defender turns to make a play on the ball it's usually fine. The flag happens when defenders just flail their arms up and run into the reciever trynna catch the ball 😂

You could make PI a 15 yard, auto 1st down penalty. The spot foul is the real issue in my opinion.

Everyone here commenting the same thing - that the "DB" is running into the WR... the abusive part is the "WR" running into the DB on purpose. He's not just slowing down to catch an underthrown ball, he's purposely running into the DB to get the flag. This is the NFL's version of the James Hardin NBA rule ( that they never enforced ), where he fakes like he's going to shoot and when the defender goes vertical to block the shot, he then launches himself at an angle into the defender, and gets a foul call.

If the defender would go after the ball he could adjust to the actual throw as well as the receiver, he would not run into the receiver. But when he is just aiming to interfere without looking for the football he should be punished for doing so.

How often are comeback routes actually done in the vicinity of this penalty? I feel like 99.9999% of the time this happens its not an intended 25yd curl or comeback, its a go or deep slant that gets poorly thrown. If thats the case then I don't think making a rule that impacts routes that are never used is much of a problem.

No change it is not a problem. The DB needs to get his head around once he sees the WR slow down. It is the responsibility of the DB to either locate the ball or not run into the WR. The things you point out would be a nightmare to officiate.

Philosophically, I think the rules so heavily favor the passing game. This is another example of where anything just goes to the offense. While I concede, it's true, in most of these cases, the defender is probably just in scramble mode chasing as fast as he can. That said, just rewarding the offensive for a poorly thrown ball seems too generous. I think the appropriate flag should be "illegal contact" +5 yards, replay down., only in these scenarios on under thrown balls, where the WR essentially stopping or even running back into the DB. I know the NBA had to bear down on these types of plays, because offensive players, once they knew they beat their man, the could just "feel" them behind them, and stop on a dime for free throws. Gladly, the NBA started to stop calling these actions, which i think the NFL should do as well. The punishment doesn't fit the "crime" of getting beat. Just getting good pass protection, and WR beating his guy, is not enough to just award the offense beaucoup yards on a poorly thrown pass. Getting the pass there is also a caveat of completing the play. If the penalty was even +10 yards, I would be Ok with that to.

The 15 yard college rule is better

Keep the rule, defenders have the responsibility to play the ball and not initially get smoked. Let’s be real defenders can’t touch WR or QBs anymore

I've been saying that defender should have a right to exist. If an offensive player breaks off route to adjust to the ball, it shouldn't be pass interference. The offensive player is the one making contact.

My argument would be that a receiver cuts back into you they initiated contact and therefore it isn't pass interference. I think that you would word the ruling to only refer to situations where the defender has their back to the line of scrimmage, which would make it so that this really only deals with underthrown go balls. Yes, you can argue that the defender shouldn't get beat so that an offense can do this but I'd argue that the offense should have to actually take advantage of that defensive mistake, not just throw a poorly thrown ball the guarantee a big penalty.

I don't think this penalty is that big of an issue. It's annoying but I don't think there needs to be any change. Like u said these penalties happen bc dbs get beat and I don't think we should reward them for getting beat. Now if they make contact with the receiver on a underthrown ball and have their head turned playing the ball that's all good. But you can't just let dbs run into wrs without their head turned, not playing the ball

In the scenario you are presenting, the point to be made is that the ball is under thrown, which means it's not catchable by that receiver. I see two potential solutions, 1. It's not a penalty at all because it's not catchable. 2. Create a 5 yard penalty variant of PI similar to the accidental facemask penalty.

Without the spot foul you take away any play over 15 yards. As soon as a defender feels he's getting beat, he'll just grab the receiver. There is a huge difference between college and the nfl

Brady lived off the PI call on undertrhown passes. Won 6 SBs with it. I guess now that he's retired it should change 🤷

Yessss!!!!! Stop awarding poor play, with an even worse flag

This isn't a problem, in this scenario there's bad QB & DB play - so you're not "rewarding" anything, & what was suggested is already the correct interpretation of the rule. The biggest issue that makes it "complex" is the inconsistency that referees make this call. Idk who is complaining about this, but I'd prefer they fix holding on pass sets/on the edge player. There's little to no explanation of how refs are told to interpret it.

The receiver needs to see that the pass is short and slow down to adjust to it, If he just stops and tries to go back for it , it should not be a pass interference.

Yeah, well, Stafford's pass to Nacua on the Rams' last drive against the Lions wasn't underthrown.

Spot foul needs to be changed. Turn it to 15 yards.

The fix is ...both teams do it every down

Maybe don't change the rule but change the consequences like repeat down

No penalty should be bigger than the 15 yard Personal Foul penalty.......15 yards max for this infraction.

tom brady's greatest weapon 🧐

Here’s how u fix it: you don’t! This isn’t an unfair advantage to either team so why change it. Both offenses can do this

Quarterbacks are getting paid over $50 million a year. They take up 20% of a teams cap space. They get paid more than anybody else on the team-- make the damn throw. Period.

This does NOT need to be "fixed",

No. Underthrows are part of the game. Be aware of your surroundings.