On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we talked about the midgame injury to referee Adrian Hill in Week 12, who handed off his white hat for umpire Roy Ellison.

There also was a Sunday night game that was a little rough at the end of regulation, but the crew gathered themselves and nailed several tight calls in the overtime session. We discussed how a crew reins in a game gets out in front of them.

We also had some quick takes on the false start/timeout issue with the Packers on Thanksgiving, a touchdown that was not ruled down because the runner rolled over the top of the tackler (with a wing who astutely let the play run), an unfortunate inadvertent whistle that erased a first down conversion, and how referees are making sure that captains do not make mistakes on the NFL overtime coin toss.

We have an alternate official this week: Mike D the Referee from the Whistle Talk podcast joins the Football Zebras crew of Ben Austro, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber.

Here are the plays mentioned in this week’s quick takes:

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we get ready for Thanksgiving by talking about high school rivalries that play on Thanksgiving morning that don’t count in the standings, but are must-win games.

Our own Pat Weber shared his experience as the referee for the Chicago’s storied Prep Bowl, and who he worked that game with and an officiating legend who shares his unique legacy.

We also took a look at how referee Phil Luckett has been maligned for decades for a seemingly botched coin toss on Thanksgiving. As we have said for many years, Phil Luckett was right, even though history doesn’t record it that way.

It’s a full crew on the podcast: Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber.

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we take a look at an unusual situation where Broncos coach Sean Payton and down judge Derrick Bowers collided on an interception return. To our surprise, the penalty for the sideline interference was declined, even though fouls against an official are enforced separately.

We also discussed a defensive pass interference flag that should not have been thrown, how one overtime coin flip seemed to have an error, a spitting incident that lead to a suspension, a fake tush push play, and several players this week committing celebratory acts that are clear fouls.

Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we take a look at former NFL players who become officials and use their instincts as players to their advantage. We also discussed how in high school, some regions in a state may have slight differences in officiating mechanics. This may cause confusion during postseason play when officials and coaches are from different regions.

We also discussed how the Panthers legally recovered their own blocked kick, the state of ejections in the NFL through 10 weeks, a disjointed end to the fourth quarter in Berlin, and what could be the call of the year from Big Ten back judge Josh Dascher in the Indiana-Penn State game.

Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, and Chris Seubert have this week’s discussion.

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we take a look at the start of high school playoffs and how various states determine which officials get postseason assignments.

We also discussed what seems to be an increase in missed false starts at the NFL level, an intentional grounding rule that has been misconstrued by many fans, and a case where a high school playoff game had a game-winning field goal on 5th down.

Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we discuss multiple instances in NFL games this weekend where a quick or erroneous whistle was to blame for a few calls. One of them involved the tush-push play where a turnover was nullified, and look how this might affect the rules governing this play.

On Sunday night, there was an interesting situation where the Steelers were not able to challenge a sure touchdown ruled incomplete, but replay assist reversed the call. We take a look at the process and what it has done for the replay system overall.

Finally, we talk about some troubling news out of the SEC. Referee Ken Williamson was permanently suspended by the conference, reportedly due to errors by the crew in the Auburn-Georgia game. We discuss the ramifications of this decision and how officials should be held accountable.

Ben Austro, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber — and Ben’s dog — have this week’s discussion.

Here are videos of the quick whistle plays that were discussed

I mean you literally can't do anything. Should be Giants ball pic.twitter.com/BhjN5wD5No

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2025.08 NYG-PHI | IW? on missed FG pic.twitter.com/IzdgFGDG84

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we discussed defensive pass interference, and how two key plays differed between a flag and a no-call. We switched sides of the field to look at offensive pass interference and how receivers have used tactics to conceal their efforts to gain an advantage.

We returned to the failed trick play last week that Lions coach Dan Campbell claimed was decided in replay to debunk that theory.

Also under discussion was the officials’ involvement after the final play of the game, which this week saw Dre Greenlaw of the Broncos picking up a 1-game suspension for confronting referee Brad Allen.

And finally, we observed a situation on Sunday where referee Bill Vinovich had a discussion during a break with Jalen Carter of the Eagles, demonstrating that Carter’s tackle was exactly what the league wants defenders to do when bringing the quarterback down. This may seem a bit unorthodox to the untrained eye, but we discussed how using preventative officiating and taking advantage of these “talk-to” moments overall improve the game for the players and the fans.

Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

The clips of line judge Tim Podraza addressing 49ers tight end Vernon Davis in 2014 and Vinovich’s discussion with Carter are below.

A lot of questions on offside/formation warnings. This is typically early in the game for technical or borderline violations addressed in the next stoppage. Here, LJ Tim Podraza exercises preventative officiating instead of a flag in the first quarter of a 2014 game pic.twitter.com/0UP8C3ZDFC

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On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we looked at a failed trick play that negated a Lions touchdown. This recalls a similar situation in 2023 when a substitution sleight of hand went wrong.

We also talked about one of our own, senior editor Mark Schultz, who was the referee at a high school game Friday, and the result went viral. After too many players were ejected from one team, he was forced to end the game before halftime. Tuesday morning, after the podcast was recorded, the Illinois High School Association awarded a 1-0 victory to Peoria-Richwoods by forfeit.

And finally, with a Patriots 61-yard touchdown nullified by an erroneous penalty, we discussed how officials deal with mistakes that have such gravity, maintain focus in the game, and use the experience to prevent it from happening again.

Ben Austro, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

We discussed other times illegal motion was called on a T-formation quarterback. The last time it was called was in 2020 when Washington quarterback Kyle Allen was flagged in a Week 6 game against the Giants. Before that in 2019, Steelers quarterback Delvin Hodges, in one of the 8 NFL games he played, was also penalized for illegal motion in a Week 15 game against the Bills. The next instance before that was the Baker Mayfield play that Cam mentioned.

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we looked at some of the substitution tactics that we reported last week and what officials are doing at the college and pro level to minimize gamesmanship.

We examined two pass defenses that were not called defensive pass interference at the end of two consequential games, both of which knocked off the remaining undefeated teams. We discussed the “buckets,” or categories, of pass interference and why mere contact is not a foul.

Ben Austro, Mark Schultz, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

The plays under discussion for pass defense were in the Broncos-Eagles game and the Patriots-Bills game.

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Great play by #Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez to "plaster" to Khalil Shakir in the scramble drill.

Allen misses an in-structure opportunity on the deep over when he leaves a clean pocket, and Gonzo travels over 41 yards to break up the pass to Shakir. pic.twitter.com/Iy1Ah1Fr4d

On this episode of the 1st & 25 podcast, we looked at an unusual situation that caused 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to be unable to decline a penalty. This included a broader discussion on sideline communication and efficiency.

We also talked about players celebrating too soon on an inevitable touchdown, and how officials must always be attentive to the possibility of a fumble and not anticipate the score.

Finally, we praised a small, but meaningful, contribution by Fox commentator Greg Olsen during his game. All the networks have rules analysts, but when the announcers can immediately address a quirk in the rules, it is a big help to the common fan — and comforting to those of us who wear stripes any day of the week.

Ben Austro, Cam Filipe, Chris Seubert, and Pat Weber have this week’s discussion.

We mentioned that we have given a Broadcaster of the Year award to announcers who have a command of the rules of the game and officiating mechanics. Here are those two posts: