Pereira on NFL rules

Each week throughout the NFL season, Mike Pereira, the league’s former vice president of officiating, will answer readers’ questions about officiating and league rules.

If the ball has already been set up and then made ready for play for the next down, and then the offense commits a personal foul, then it would be first and 25.

Q: With about four minutes remaining in Thursday’s Chiefs-Patriots game, Tom Brady was tackled in the end zone; he fell forward with the entire ball ending up outside the goal line when the ball reached the ground.

Q: As a longtime NFL fan, I remember the days when the NFL had the two white stripes on their footballs, similar to college ball.

Why were they eliminated for the nondescript all-brown ball, and do you anticipate them ever returning to play? The ball manufacturer and the league felt like it might be easier to see the ball especially when the lighting was not good.

However, quarterbacks immediately complained about the balls being slippery when the thumb was on the white stripe.

The NFL has stayed with the all-brown ball, now called “The Duke,” as the lighting in their stadiums is plenty good enough to see the ball.

The college ball still does have the two white stripes, although they are only on two panels.

Besides that, the NCAA doesn’t want to use a ball that resembles the NFL ball.