A nationwide FAA ground stop has created a strange wrinkle for the Panthers’ Week 10 trip to New Orleans, and it comes at a time when Carolina would probably prefer not to be talking about officials at all.
Because of the air travel disruption, the NFL has had to reshuffle some of its Week 10 officiating assignments, moving crews to games within driving distance of their hometowns, according to insider Tom Pelissero. One of the matchups affected is Carolina’s NFC South meeting with the Saints.
Per Pelissero, umpire Duane Heydt, who is a backup, will serve as the referee for Panthers-Saints. The game also won’t have a replay official on site at Caesars Superdome. Instead, those duties will be handled by the replay center in New York, N.Y.
That setup makes for an especially notable backdrop after last week’s 26-21 loss to the Denver Broncos, when a replay sequence became the center of attention.
In the third quarter, Denver head coach Sean Payton used a very late challenge on a Carolina incompletion in the end zone. The play was overturned into a game-changing interception for the Broncos, but the red flag was only acknowledged by officials after the next snap - a 0-yard rush by running back Chuba Hubbard - had already been run and whistled dead.
The timing of the challenge wasn’t the only thing that drew scrutiny. Many also wondered whether Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble had been interfered with on the attempted touchdown catch, which would have made the late challenge irrelevant.
After the game, NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth said officials reviewed the tape and determined Payton’s challenge came in time. On Monday, Canales said he had not yet seen the replay Butterworth was referencing.
Asked again on Wednesday, Canales declined to comment, effectively moving past Week 9 and the controversy that came with it.
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