A few days after the New Orleans Saints' heartbreaking overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy launched a seven-minute diatribe on the senate floor decrying the pass interference no-call that robbed his hometown team of the chance to score a late, go-ahead touchdown in the NFC Championship game.
Though Cassidy's gambit amounted to nothing more than snickering from colleagues and perhaps a few scored political points from constituents who were similarly dismayed by their home-state team's loss, the one man whose opinion actually matters has finally weighed in on the controversy.
1:24 pm EST. Goodell: "It's a play that should be called." I believe that's the first official, on-the-record admission from the NFL that it was a blown call.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 30, 2019
Too little too late, right Saints fans?
Video of the play in question makes it clear that Los Angeles defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman hit New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis well before the ball arrives, but officials threw no flag on the play.
The Saints were forced to settle for a field goal after failing to convert on third down, giving the ball back to the Rams, trailing 23-20, with 1:41 left in the game, which allowed them ample time to set up kicker Greg Zuerlein for a game-tying 48-yard field goal with just seconds remaining. “Greg the Leg” would later send Los Angeles to its first Super Bowl appearance since 2001 with a 57-yard boot in overtime, following an interception thrown by Drew Brees on the extra period's opening possession.
The cover-up can often be worse than the crime, a trope that applies to the NFL's bungled handling of an officiating blunder that dominated headlines in the sports world for days. Managing the referees' obvious mistake would have been made much easier by admitting it soon after the incident, rather than fanning the flames of hysteria by failing to acknowledge wrongdoing altogether.
At least Goodell, in the long run, finally mustered the sense to come clean.
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