The non-call in the NFC Championship Game between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams happened nearly seven months ago. Despite that, the talk surrounding it — and Roger Goodell — has been alive and well, enough to reach the form of a lawsuit.
A judge dismissed that lawsuit, which targeted Roger Goodell and other league officials over Rams-Saints officiating. Fans who purchased tickets to the game filed the suit, believing the game wasn't called fairly by the officials.
As everyone knows, there was a controversial non-call late in the NFC Championship Game. On the play, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw a wheel-route pass to Tommylee Lewis, but Nickell Robey-Coleman of the Rams cut the route off and hit Lewis well before the ball arrived.
It was blatant pass interference, but the refs didn't throw a flag. The play happened on a third down and there were under two minutes remaining in the game. Therefore, fans and the media alike blamed the outcome of the game on that single call.
Nevertheless, the Rams won the game after Greg Zuerlein made a 57-yard field goal to send Los Angeles to the Super Bowl. Since then, Sean Payton and Saints fans have been up in arms about the botched call.
As a result, the NFL will implement a rule in 2019 in which coaches can challenge pass interference calls. Besides rule changes, there have been multiple other lawsuits filed, including some to have the game played again.
None of them have evolved into anything, though Goodell could be questioned by the Louisiana state court in their suit. The non-call in the NFC Championship Game from last season continues to live on… and it continues to live off the field.
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