User:Wlefkovich/sandbox

The 2018 NFC Championship Game officiating controversy took place during an American Football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. The 2018 NFC Championship Game took place in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 20, 2019. The Rams defeated the Saints 26-23 in overtime to become NFC Champions and advance to Super Bowl LIII.

The play occurred with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 20. The Saints had possession of the football, third down and ten yards to go, on the Los Angeles 13-yard line. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw a pass intended for receiver Tommylee Lewis, but Lewis was hit by Rams corner Nickell Robey-Coleman before he had a chance to make a play on the ball. Despite what appeared to be a clear defensive pass interference penalty, no penalty flag was thrown.

The Saints settled for a field goal, going up 23-20. The Rams subsequently drove down the field, and kicker Greg Zurlein tied the game with a field goal, forcing overtime. The Saints won the overtime coin toss, but Brees was intercepted by John Johnson. The Rams ran five plays, and then won the game with a Zurlein field goal.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later admitted it was a "play that should be called," but went on to say that officials are "not going to get it right every time. As I said, they're human".

The play resulted in backlash from Saints players and coaches, fans, and media members. A group of Saints fans and season ticket holders filed a lawsuit against the NFL, asking the court to mandate that the NFC Championship game be replayed. Though the game was not replayed in time for Super Bowl LIII, which the Rams lost to the New England Patriots, the controversy sparked conversation about changing the rules to allow coaches to ask for replay review on judgment calls.

The Play
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, the announcers on the Fox broadcast, made the following call:

Buck: "Quick snap, Bress. Pass is...incomplete, no flag for Tommy-Lee Lewis. Nickell Robey-Coleman delivered a hit, and the two officials talked to each other. Crowd's going crazy as there's no flag right on the Saints sideline".

Aikman: "Well, if Nickell Robey-Coleman plays the ball, it's an interception! He's probably going the other way with it. I mean the ball's on the other side of Robey-Coleman and...but that should have been a penalty, and Sean Payton is justifiably upset".

The controversial play appeared to be in clear violation of two rules from the NFL Rulebook. Rule 8.5.2(a) states that "contact by a player who is not playing the ball that restricts the opponent’s opportunity to make the catch" is prohibited. Rule 8.5.2(e) prohibits players from "cutting off the path of an opponent by making contact with him, without playing the ball".

Immediately after the play, Robey-Coleman can be seen looking side-to-side, likely anticipating a penalty flag. He stated after the game that he got away with a penalty, telling reporters "Hell yeah, that was a PI. I did my part. Referee made the call. We respect it". Robey-Coleman was also reported as stating that he was intentionally committing a penalty to prevent a touchdown.

Lewis, too, was looking for a flag. After the game, he stated "I got up looking for a flag and didn’t see one. It was a bad call".

Had the penalty been called, New Orleans would have been granted a first down on the Rams six yard line with 1:45 left in the game. Los Angeles had only one time out left, meaning the Saints likely could have run the clock down to a few seconds and attempted a short field goal to win the game. The Saints win probability was calculated at 98% if pass interference had been called. After the non-call, New Orleans' win probability dropped to 78%.

Aftermath
Saints head coach Sean Payton, who had reacted demonstrably to the non-call on the sideline during the game, delivered strong remarks in his postgame press conference.

"'Disappointing way to lose a game...frustrating, you know. Just getting off the phone with the league office. They blew the call. We had a lot of opportunities though, but that call puts it first and ten, we only need three plays, it's a game changing call. That's where it's at'."

Payton references a phone call he held directly after the game with the NFL's Senior VP of Officiating, Al Riveron, who admitted the officials had missed the call.

Five days after the game, the NFL fined Robey-Coleman $26,739 for the play. A fine issued on a play where no penalty was called is the League's informal post hoc penalty for plays that likely should have been flagged. The fine was an admission that not only was the play a defensive pass interference violation, but it also should have been called a personal foul for an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver.

Payton and Saints players, including Brees, receiver Michael Thomas, and tight end Benjamin Watson, grew restless as Goodell was slow to reach out to players who felt like they were owed an explanation, or at least an admission that they had been wronged. Eleven days after the game, Thomas tweeted "He ain't talk to us". The next day, Brees was interviewed on the Dan Patrick Show.

"“Do I really want to be in a position talking about this over and over again? No, but I have to stand up and do it because I have to represent my team, represent the Who Dat Nation, and that’s my responsibility. It’s the commissioner’s responsibility to do the same thing, and yet we don’t hear a peep for 10 days, and it’s because he has to do it now because he’s at the Super Bowl and he does his annual press conference'."

In Goodell's annual Super Bowl interview on January 30, he admitted that officials were "human," but they had missed that call. While his answer did little to quell players' frustrations, it certainly did nothing for Saints fans, who effectively boycotted the Super Bowl. The game received a 26.1 television rating in New Orleans, the lowest of any market and by far the lowest ever in New Orleans.

Lawsuit
A group of Saints fans and season ticket holders upset with the controversial non-call and the subsequent outcome of the game filed a lawsuit against the NFL on January 27, 2019.

The lawsuit, filed by Tommy Badeaux and Candis Lambert "individually and on behalf of New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holders, New Orleans Saints National Fan Base a/k/a The Who Dat Nation and any party with interest that has been affected by the outcome," names Roger Goodell and the NFL as defendants. The lawsuit asks the Louisiana Court "to mandate the extraordinary step of ordering a replay of the NFC Championship Game, and for damages to all putative class member Saints fans. The consequences of ordering are replay of the NFC Championship Game or any portion of the game cannot be overstated". Such an order would have been the first in history.

The next day, the NFL publicly acknowledged the missed call for the first time. In the same press release, they asked that the lawsuit be thrown out on the grounds that "this kind of dispute implicates no legally cognizable rights".

The court denied the plaintiffs request to replay the game days later.

Rule Change
On January 30, 2019, reports began to surface that the NFL was considering a rule change. Goodell said during his Super Bowl interview that the league would re-examine replay rules, specifically those excluded judgment calls from being reviewable.

Further reports indicated that the NFL is considering adopting a rule that would allow a limited basis for coaches to challenge judgment calls, or whether or not a penalty had been called. The rule would include a consequence should the call be upheld.

In March 2019, the NFL proposed a rule for a one-year replay expansion trial. Under the proposed rule, penalties and pass interference calls would be reviewable.

On March 27, 2019, NFL owners approved a trial rule change that would allow coaches to challenge pass interference call on both the offense and the defense. The measure was approved by vote of 31-1, with the Cincinnati Bengals being the only team to abstain.

Officials
Referee: Bill Vinovich

Umpire: Bill Stritesky

Down Judge: Patrick Turner

Line Judge: Rusty Baynes

Field Judge: Tim Hill

Side Judge: Gary Cavaletto

Back Judge: Todd Prukop