When officials flagged Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II for defensive pass interference on third-and-15 from the Colts’ 25-yard line late in Sunday’s fourth quarter, they got the call wrong.
Still, that didn’t stop lead official Clay Martin from defending the decision to the pool reporter after the game.
“The calling official had an arm grab at the top of the route,” Martin said. “When you look back, the ball was in the air, and when you see the ball in the air, that makes it pass interference.”
Moore made only slight contact with Xavier Hutchinson’s arm as the Texans wideout cut inside on his route, yet when Hutchinson fell to the turf, the official threw a flag, awarding Houston a first down at Indy’s 17-yard line. By rule, no penalty should have been called because the contact must “restrict the opponent’s opportunity to make the catch.”
Martin was asked about another potential missed calls from the game, in which the Texans defeated the Colts, 20-16.
On a fourth-quarter play where the play clock had clearly expired before the Texans snapped the ball, Martin was asked why a delay of game wasn’t called.
“The back judge is the calling official and there is a process on that,” Martin said. “When the clock hits zero, he looks down to the ball and if the ball is snapped as he looks down from the clock to the ball, we leave that alone. That’s what he ruled on the play.”
Dungy Says Colts Were Robbed and ‘NFL Has to do Something’
Tony Dungy, the first Black man to win the Super Bowl as head coach when he did so with the Colts in 2007, took to social media to express his disdain for the officiating in the NFL.
“(The) NFL has to do something,” the Hall of Famer said.
“We’ve had bad pass interference calls all weekend and some missed PI calls. But the one in the Texans-Colts game was very bad. Blatant disregard of the rule when legs get tangled. And on top of that they missed a delay of game before the ball was snapped.”
GettyLANDOVER, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Football Night in America analyst and former NFL player and coach Tony Dungy looks on prior to the game between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on November 02, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Houston fans were quick to point out to Dungy that pass interference was called on the Texans in third quarter when the pass from Daniel Jones seemed to sail over the receiver and was uncatchable. Which by rule, should not be a penalty.
Dungy Weighs In on Officiating During ‘Sunday Night Football’
The NFL officials have also been inconsistent in recent weeks on when they chose to use an expedited review, which allows for the referees to adjust the spot of the ball, among other things, using replay assistance.
Questionable officiating was also the story of “Sunday Night Football” between the Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos.
During Washington’s second-to-last possession of the fourth quarter, Marcus Mariota was tripped and went down on a play in which he got back up and scrambled for about seven yards. The NFL used replay assistance to rule that Mariota was down by contact in the backfield, wiping out the run. However, while Mariota was indeed down by contact as confirmed through expedited review, he was also tripped — which should have resulted in a penalty on the Broncos and a first down for the Commanders. Instead, the review failed to correct the call.
Dungy wrote during the game that the NFL is not being consistent.
“The NFL continues to use replay to correct some calls but not to correct obvious missed calls,” he said. “This creates a credibility problem. When replay is used to move the spot of a ball 6 inches or used to see if the QB’s knee touched the ground— but can’t be used to see if he was tripped or can’t be used to see if the clock is at :00 when players are pointing to the clock it creates issues. We either need to correct ALL OBVIOUS missed calls or we need to let the officials call the games on the field and live with it”
Dungy elaborated after a commenter called him a crybaby, explaining that his concern was about accountability, not emotion.
“Not crying. Just wondering why in the Broncos-Commanders game the officials didn’t see the QBs knee hit the ground. Replay technology saw his knee did hit the ground. It hit the ground because he was illegally tripped. So on the play we correct one missed call but not the other one. That cost Washington 30 yds. But that’s OK????”
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