The Patriots had to sweat a ruling that could have flipped their Week 8 game, and the bigger issue may be the officiating setup that put them in that spot in the first place.
On Kyle Williams’ 43-yard touchdown in the third quarter against the Dolphins, the play was initially ruled incomplete because he lost the football after crossing the plane. In real time, it looked like a touchdown, but the crew huddled and came back with the wrong call.
Mike Vrabel didn’t wait around. He fired the challenge flag from midfield, and that decision may have saved the Patriots from a disastrous turn.
Mike Vrabel on why he threw the challenge flag as far as he did:
"I was a lot more certain than the officials were the first time they called it."
- @CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/9ptSv0F5SI
- Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) November 2, 2026
The touchdown ultimately stood, but the sequence raised a larger question about the officiating crew assigned to the game. The Patriots-Dolphins matchup had been scheduled to be called by Shawn Hochuli’s crew, but that changed on Thursday night, when they were moved to Sunday Night Football.
That switch came after a rough previous week for the crew in the Packers-Lions game, and while the league has insisted that Moore’s crew wasn’t being punished, the timing made the move look anything but routine. Instead, it felt like a last-minute shuffle tied to a shaky performance, one that sent them out of primetime and into Miami.
The replay review wasn’t the only close call that went New England’s way. A pool report, shared via @Marcel_LJ, noted that both Williams’ touchdown and Pop Douglas’ fourth-down catch - which was initially ruled short of the line to gain - were overturned.
Pool report, via @Marcel_LJ, on Kyle Williams’ TD after replay review, and Pop Douglas’ fourth-down catch initialed ruled short of the line to gain also overturned. pic.twitter.com/0Wm24Ur6pW
- Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 2, 2026
Still, the bigger issue is the league’s explanation - or lack of one - for the officiating change. The NFL is rarely eager to spell out why it makes these kinds of decisions, and the Patriots probably won’t get much clarity now. But a switch that late, involving a crew that had just drawn scrutiny, deserves more than silence.
Roger Goodell should address it with the Patriots organization, especially after the response to the Williams play did nothing to calm the situation. The league may not offer that kind of transparency, and the Patriots shouldn’t expect much help there. But if that officiating crew’s performance had swung the result the other way, this would be a far bigger story than it already is.
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