NFL's New Pass Interference Challenge Rule is Already Trash

It only took the first game of the preseason for NFL fans to witness the newly-created pass interference challenge rule. The review installation came after the famous blown call in the NFC Championship Game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams.

While it seemed all well and good on paper, its execution on the field was terrible.

In the second quarter of the Hall of Fame Game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio challenged a pass interference penalty on defensive back Linden Stephens.

And thus began the review. Enjoy, if you can.

If this review showed us anything, it's that these challenges are going to be a nightmare this season.

First thing's first: the challenge rule was implemented in order to prevent the egregious and obvious missed call that ruined the NFC Championship Game. Calls that were "clear and obvious, visual [and] significantly hinders" the receiver or defensive back would be looked at by officials on the field and in the booth.

This play on Thursday night showed that Stephens did hinder receiver Russell Gage on his route . But Fangio still threw the challenge flag, and it resulted in a minute-plus delay, before officials let the call on the field stand.

We can see it now, 32 head coaches throwing the challenge on plays that didn't necessarily warrant it.

As with any review in the NFL, they can drag out for lengthy period of time and disrupt the flow of the game. In its debut, the pass interference challenge rule proved it's going to create some issues in the regular season.