The NFL offseason is when rules get reviewed and adjusted, and 2025 is no different. Several proposals were approved, but one under-the-radar change could have a big impact.
The league signed off on using Hawk-Eye technology as “the primary method for measuring the line to gain,” a move some see as a response to the Buffalo Bills’ controversial AFC Championship Game loss. Shannon Sharpe is among those weighing in, discussing the change on his “Night Cap” show.
Shannon Sharpe Says New Technology Is Meant To Get Bills to the Super Bowl
Buffalo’s season ended — again — at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, this time in a 32-29 AFC title game loss. One of the most talked-about moments came in the fourth quarter, when Josh Allen was stopped short on a fourth-and-1 QB sneak. Replay upheld the on-field ruling, but the camera angles never clearly showed whether Allen reached the line to gain.
The Bills had been dominant on sneaks all year, finishing as the second-most successful team in that department, converting 29 of 37 tries (78.4%), including the playoffs. Only the Eagles attempted more, with 48 “tush push” calls in 2024. Still, Kansas City stuffed the Bills on three sneak attempts in that game.
Allen never emerged from the pile on that critical play, and there was no replay angle that definitively showed the ball crossing the line. That controversy helped push the league toward adopting Hawk-Eye as its official ball-spotting system for 2025.
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, praised the move, saying, “Combining the art of officiating with Sony’s trusted Hawk-Eye system is a healthy recipe for success in our commitment to raising the standards of accuracy, consistency and efficiency.”
He added that the data-driven approach would improve both officiating accuracy and consistency. But Sharpe isn’t buying it. On his show with former NFL wideout Chad Johnson, Sharpe took a more skeptical angle.
Sharpe said, “The Chiefs fans will say, ‘Damn, they want Buffalo to get to the Super Bowl so bad they change the rules to help them.’ And guess what? They gonna find another way to lose. You can’t keep running the same play. Me personally, I don’t think he got it. I don’t think he got the first down.”
The last time the Bills and Chiefs met in a playoff thriller, the league changed its postseason overtime rules in response. If these two teams square off again in January, don’t be surprised if more controversy follows.