Botched Call?

Week 3 Results (No teams on Bye week):

36-  7:  (2-1) New York Giants at (1-2) Carolina Panthers
10-16:  (1-2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers at (2-1) Dallas Cowboys
22-17:  (1-2) Jacksonville Jaguars at (1-2) Indianapolis Colts
24-14:  (2-1) Buffalo Bills at (0-3) Cleveland Browns
23-20:  (2-1) New York Jets at (1-2) Miami Dolphins (in OT)
27-24:  (1-2) Kansas City Chiefs at (0-3) New Orleans Saints (in OT)
38-31:  (2-1) Cincinnati Bengals at (1-2) Washington Redskins
  6-23:  (1-2) St. Louis Rams at (2-1) Chicago Bears
13-24:  (2-1) San Francisco 49ers at (2-1) Minnesota Vikings
41-44:  (1-2) Detroit Lions at (1-2) Tennessee Titans (in OT)
27-  3:  (3-0) Atlanta Falcons at (2-1) San Diego Chargers
  6-27:  (2-1) Philadelphia Eagles at (3-0) Arizona Cardinals
31-34:  (1-2) Pittsburgh Steelers at (1-2) Oakland Raiders
31-25:  (3-0) Houston Texans at (1-2) Denver Broncos
30-31:  (1-2) New England Patriots at (2-1) Baltimore Ravens
12-14:  (1-2) Green Bay Packers at (2-1) Seattle Seahawks

Three teams remain at 3-0: Houston Texans; Arizona Cardinals; and Atlanta Falcons. Two teams have yet to win a game: Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints. Fifteen teams are 1-2, and twelve teams are 2-1.

The most talked-about game this week was the Monday Night Football game between GreenBay and Seattle. The game came down to the last play made as time was running out: a Seahawks Hail Mary pass that went into the end zone amid a scrum of four defensive and two offensive players.

Two players, one each from Green Bay and Seattle, landed on the ground holding the ball; it was ruled a touchdown with the Seattle player maintaining possession of the ball, not an interception by Green Bay. After a lengthy review, the play was upheld.

Just about everyone except the referees and Seattle fans thought it was a Green Bay interception, which would have ended the game with Green Bay winning 12-7.

The outrage is aimed mainly at the replacement refs who called it a touchdown instead of an interception, and who missed an offensive pass interference call. The play was not reviewed by a replacement ref, but by a veteran; this veteran upheld the call.

In order for a call made on the field to be reversed, there must be clear evidence in the replay that gives cause to reverse the call. If there is not clear evidence, as there was not in this case, the call on the field is upheld. In baseball, a tie at the plate goes to the runner; in this case, the tie between offensive and defensive players holding the ball went to the offense.

What are the ramifications that make this bad call so outrageous? For one, Green Bay’s record is now 1-2, not 2-1. Seattle is 2-1, not 1-2.

One lost game does not a season make, but it can make a difference for the post-season: whether a team makes the post-season; whether they get a bye during the first round; whether they get home field advantage.

Time will tell if this one game impacts Green Bay in two ways: whether they can put it out of their mind and move on; and whether this game will be the one fans point to that impacted their post-season participation (or lack thereof).