Replays of interference calls

Example: 20 seconds left in the 4th.....a team is down by 3 or less........that team is on their own 22 yard line.......QB takes a shot for his WR, who is around the opponent's 40 yard line. Defender sees what's likely about to happen and blatantly interferes. Without a spot-foul penalty, now that team only gets to move to their own 37 yard line. And oh btw, about 8 seconds went off the clock, so not only are they still 13 yards short of even being at mid-field, but they're also working with only about 12 seconds.


Today, the offense can just take a few shots down the field and hope for a PI call. If they get just one, it's basically game over - they win. Simple as that.

Now let's say the penalty is 15 yards instead of a spot foul. For starters, offenses will be much less inclined to simply chuck it downfield and would need to rely more on their own offensive production instead (the way it should be). But even if they did take some legitimate shots down the field and a DB blatantly interferes, the defense is still giving up not only sizeable chunks of yards but also temporary clock stoppages as well, which may be just as critical as the yards themselves.

I'm perfectly ok with a defense getting hit with 45 yards worth of PI penalties in the span of 3 plays at the end of a game because the DBs blatantly mugged the WR. I'm NOT ok with a defense getting hit with 45 yards worth of PI penalties in one play because both the DB and WR were going for the ball.