I don't know about any consensus (I don't live on this forum) but such consensus would have absolutely no solid facts behind it, just guesswork.
Fair and important point, it is complete guesswork.
I guess a better way to come at this is that I haven't seen any explanation for the partial ping other than that it was triggered by the engines shutting down. So if this whole "flew faster and not as far" business means authorities are recalculating the distance flown after the partial ping, then we don't seem to have even a theory as to what caused the partial ping (as it would not, it stands to reason, have been the engines shutting down). That is certainly possible. It is also weird.
Maybe others can shed some light on what could cause a partial ping?