NFL's 'Color Rush' jerseys confuse colorblind viewers

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The NFL's attempt to add some extra color to their players' uniforms backfired Thursday night, as many colorblind fans were unable to distinguish between the two teams on the field.

Thursday night's game saw the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills face off, wearing all-green and all-red uniforms respectively as part of the NFL's "Color Rush" promotion. Unfortunately, as many viewers on Twitter pointed out, both uniforms appeared as green for viewers with red-green colorblindness.

Usually one team wears white, while the other wears a darker color to avoid confusion. However, part of the "Color Rush" promotion requires that both teams uniforms are one solid color.

Colorblind former NFL player Lawrence Tynes was among those who tweeted about his difficulty watching the game.

"If you are colorblind like me this NFL game is going to be hard to follow," he wrote.

The National Eye Institute reports that red-green colorblindness is the most common, affecting 8 percent of men and .5 percent of women.

Colorblind men suffering from protanomaly have abnormal red cones which causes red, orange and yellow to appear darker and more green.

This meant that the red Bills uniforms placed up against the green grass as well as the dark green Jets uniforms were a mess to look at for colorblind viewers.

Next week game featuring the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans may also cause some problems for people with blue-yellow colorblindness as the teams will wear gold and light blue.