NFL fines Byron Young for critical face mask the officials missed

The officials missed it when Rams linebacker Bryon Young grabbed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold’s face mask on the game-cementing safety in their Week 8 game. The league office — along with the rest of the world — did not miss it.

The NFL fined Young $7,014.19 for the violation.

It’s the closest the league will come to publicly admitting the mistake. It’s still not clear whether the officials were or will be punished for the mistake. If they truly didn’t see it, what are they supposed to do?

Here’s what the NFL is supposed to do. Use replay review to get it right.

During Thursday night’s Texans-Jets game, it felt like someone used the pipeline to referee Shawn Hochuli to tell him they’d missed a face mask foul. Would it be a shock to learn that someone fairly high on the pro football food chain quietly put out the word to gloss over the letter of the rulebook and just get the calls right.

I’ve got no problem with it. As long as it’s consistent. Once the league clings to the rules as written for Rams-Vikings, it has to do it for all other games, too.