The missed pass interference call in the 2019 NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints remains one of the most controversial decisions in NFL history.
Referees, regardless of what sport you watch or follow, are always going to make mistakes, it’s human nature and there isn’t a lot that you can do about it.
All you can hope is that their decisions don’t end up having a major impact on the game, or even worse having a direct impact on the outcome of it. Sadly though, when it comes to the NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, that is exactly what happened.
And if you happen to support the Saints, then there is a good chance that you have not forgotten the ‘NOLA No-Call’, and will never forget what happened for as long as you’re watching the league.
The ‘NOLA No-Call’
With the scores level deep into the 4th quarter of the game, the Saints were in position to try and put the game away, either by scoring a touchdown or by getting a first down and running the clock down to get a late field goal.
On 3rd & 10, Brees threw a swing pass out to Tommylee Lewis, only for Rams defender Nickell Robey-Coleman to not only lay him out with a thunderous hit, something that should have been called a pass interference, but also hit him with a helmet-to-helmet hit, something which should have brought a further penalty, only for the officials to simply rule the play an incomplete pass:
They would settle for a field goal, but left too much time on the clock which meant the Rams could come back with one of their own to force overtime, something they would go on to win with another field goal to send them to the Super Bowl.
The aftermath
To say that the fans of the Saints didn’t take the decision very well would be something of an understatement, as they vented their fury in some rather spectacular ways following the game. Not only did they file a lawsuit demanding that the league have the game replayed, something that was never going to happen, but they also boycotted the Super Bowl in protest over the decision.
The anger wasn’t just confined to the fans, as Brees cut a very angry figure ahead of that year’s Super Bowl as he slammed commissioner Roger Goodell for the way he handled the matter and dealing with the Saints players in the aftermath:
The Rams would go on to lose that year’s Super Bowl to the New England Patriots, so in a way, justice was served, but you still have to feel that Saints fans will always hold a grudge over the fact they never got a chance to play in the big game and possibly win it all after that.