The NFL used its virtual first down measurement technology for the first time in regular season history during the fourth quarter of Sunday afternoon’s Titans-Broncos game. Facing a fourth-and-1, Broncos QB Bo Nix tried a sneak but was immediately tackled. The referees spotted the ball and, instead of the traditional chain gang jogging onto the field for a measurement, Hawk-Eye’s system of six 8K cameras triangulated the ball’s location and determined that Nix was 10 inches short of the first down.
first virtual measurement of the season folks pic.twitter.com/LUtiCASiTH
— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2025
Sony-owned Hawk-Eye tested the virtual first down measurement in the background of the entire 2024 season, as well as the preseason that year and this summer. The NFL has previously touted a savings of about 45 seconds per use, with Hawk-Eye taking an average of 30 seconds to do what the human-carried chains took 75 seconds. Each week, there are typically about 12 measurements, but through 15 games of Week 1 this season, there has been only one.
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