NFL says Seahawks win will stand despite controversial call
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL conceded Tuesday that a bad call cost the Green Bay Packers the game while upholding the Seattle Seahawks' victory.
As coaches, players and fans - and even athletes in other sports - ripped the use of replacement refs, the league met with its locked-out officials Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
Two people with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the sides were meeting Tuesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were not made public.
The NFL said Seattle's last-second touchdown pass Monday should not have been overturned - but acknowledged Seahawks receiver Golden Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch for a 14-12 victory.
The ire around football at the struggles of the replacements had been steadily building this season, and it reached an apex Monday with what everybody had feared would happen: a highly questionable call deciding a game.
Even President Barack Obama got in on the conversation Tuesday, tweeting: "NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon."
On the final play of "Monday Night Football," Russell Wilson heaved a 24-yard pass into a scrum in the end zone with Seattle trailing 12-7. Tate shoved away a defender with both hands, and the NFL acknowledged Tuesday he should have been penalized, which would have clinched a Packers victory. But that cannot be reviewed by instant replay.
Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings then both got their hands on the ball, though the Packers insisted Jennings had clear possession for a game-ending interception.
"It was pinned to my chest the whole time," Jennings said.
Instead, the officials ruled on the field that the two had simultaneous possession, which counts as a reception. Once that happened, the NFL said, the referee was correct that no indisputable visual evidence existed on review to overturn the touchdown call.
"The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review," the league said in a statement.
Saying there was no indisputable evidence, though, is not the same as confirming the initial call was correct.
On his weekly appearance on Seattle radio station 710 AM, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made no apologies Tuesday, saying, "The league backed it up and game over, we win."
"Golden makes an extraordinary effort. It's a great protection; it's a great throw. It's a great attempt at the ball and he wins the battle," he said. "They were right on the point looking right at it, standing right over the thing and they reviewed it. Whether they missed the push or not - obviously they missed the push in the battle for the ball - but that stuff goes on all the time."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy and players were stoic after the loss, though some vented on Twitter. Offensive lineman Josh Sitton tweeted sarcastically Tuesday: "So...according to the NFL the refs got the call correct?"
The NFL locked out the officials in June after their contract expired. Unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the league opened the season with replacements, most with experience only in lower levels of college football.
Las Vegas oddsmakers said $300 million or more changed hands worldwide on the call. The Glantz-Culver line for the game opened favoring the Packers by 4½. Had the play been ruled an interception, Green Bay would have won by 5.
The call also found its way into Wisconsin political debate, with Republican Gov. Scott Walker tweeting for the regular officials to return. Opponents noted that he seemed to be supporting the referees union after going after public employee unions last year, though Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach added: "we're all fans, first and foremost."
As coaches, players and fans - and even athletes in other sports - ripped the use of replacement refs, the league met with its locked-out officials Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
Two people with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the sides were meeting Tuesday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were not made public.
The NFL said Seattle's last-second touchdown pass Monday should not have been overturned - but acknowledged Seahawks receiver Golden Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch for a 14-12 victory.
The ire around football at the struggles of the replacements had been steadily building this season, and it reached an apex Monday with what everybody had feared would happen: a highly questionable call deciding a game.
Even President Barack Obama got in on the conversation Tuesday, tweeting: "NFL fans on both sides of the aisle hope the refs' lockout is settled soon."
On the final play of "Monday Night Football," Russell Wilson heaved a 24-yard pass into a scrum in the end zone with Seattle trailing 12-7. Tate shoved away a defender with both hands, and the NFL acknowledged Tuesday he should have been penalized, which would have clinched a Packers victory. But that cannot be reviewed by instant replay.
Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings then both got their hands on the ball, though the Packers insisted Jennings had clear possession for a game-ending interception.
"It was pinned to my chest the whole time," Jennings said.
Instead, the officials ruled on the field that the two had simultaneous possession, which counts as a reception. Once that happened, the NFL said, the referee was correct that no indisputable visual evidence existed on review to overturn the touchdown call.
"The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review," the league said in a statement.
Saying there was no indisputable evidence, though, is not the same as confirming the initial call was correct.
On his weekly appearance on Seattle radio station 710 AM, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made no apologies Tuesday, saying, "The league backed it up and game over, we win."
"Golden makes an extraordinary effort. It's a great protection; it's a great throw. It's a great attempt at the ball and he wins the battle," he said. "They were right on the point looking right at it, standing right over the thing and they reviewed it. Whether they missed the push or not - obviously they missed the push in the battle for the ball - but that stuff goes on all the time."
Packers coach Mike McCarthy and players were stoic after the loss, though some vented on Twitter. Offensive lineman Josh Sitton tweeted sarcastically Tuesday: "So...according to the NFL the refs got the call correct?"
The NFL locked out the officials in June after their contract expired. Unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the league opened the season with replacements, most with experience only in lower levels of college football.
Las Vegas oddsmakers said $300 million or more changed hands worldwide on the call. The Glantz-Culver line for the game opened favoring the Packers by 4½. Had the play been ruled an interception, Green Bay would have won by 5.
The call also found its way into Wisconsin political debate, with Republican Gov. Scott Walker tweeting for the regular officials to return. Opponents noted that he seemed to be supporting the referees union after going after public employee unions last year, though Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach added: "we're all fans, first and foremost."
as it should...they called it like they saw it...worked in our favor, so be it...
The refs might have missed the pass interference call but it definitely wasn't the only call of the game that was missed by both sides!!! I do find it funny does no one remember the 3 touchdowns that were taken away from Seattle in the SUPERBOWL!!! That the refs also later came back and said they messed up on!! I don't remember anyone talkin about that and that was the SUPERBOWL!!! If it would have been any other team than Seattle no one would even be talking about it!! Move on!!!!!
I have a problem with this whole situation. So the call was probably not what Green Bay wanted and no I'm not about to gloat about the win, but people have kinda missed what happened right after the call was made. I saw on my television a professional football team walk off the field before the game was finished. Knowing an extra point had to be kicked to finish the game Green Bay players walked off.  What a display of POOR SPORTMANSHIP!!!
 @DW2891 I don't have a problem with it, emotions were running high and both teams were leaving the field.  The extra point didn't mean anything, non issue.
Maybe you were watching a different game. A bunch of Seahawks can be seen in the videos on Youtube walking off the field, into the tunnel too. Pete Carroll even exclaimed, "Get me eleven!" as he was about to answer the first question on an "after game" interview. However, I think you have missed the ENTIRE POINT here. It should never have progressed to this point. There was blatant game-ending offensive pass interference foul committed by Golden Tate against Sam Shields was COMPLETELY MISSED. Shields ended up on the ground, and Tate in the air. No catch should have been awarded to anyone, period. The game should have immediately ended on the penalty.
@slappywag If Green Bay was the team to win, then it shouldn't have come down to a single play to begin with. They shouldn't have handed the ball over to us with over a minute to play.
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The whole game was sloppy, the officials themselves walked off the field before either team did! (Probably to make sure their cars weren't being egged.)
Governor Walker can go do himself. What a beautiful irony! The fans who wouldn't support their own teachers and public employees get jobbed as the result of a labor dispute. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group.
@Pedagoguish Except the NFL has all the money they need to pay for fat referee pensions.
This kind of win is not something to gloat about. I'm happy the hawks won, but I'm not happy about how it happened.
The 2nd half was totally out of control.
It seemed to me that this game was just way too much for those refs. They looked confused intimidated and scared all night.
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Anyone remember the game in NEW YORK in 1998 when Vinny Testaverde crawled his way under the pile into the ENDZONE to knock the Hawks out of the playoffs in Week 16?
And that led to instant replay as we know it. And I would bet this will lead to another rule change where possesion can be reviewed in cases like this. A win is a win and that won't be changed. Hopefully the Hawks can now get rolling offensively and win some games in a not so dramatic fashion.
 @Andy78 What do you think they were reviewing, from the NFL statement.
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"The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable."
jennings couged it. he should have batted the ball away.
Hmm. I'm not feeling so bad about the final point last night. Tate had his feet on the ground and had simultaneous possession. http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/6_Rule3_Definitions.pdf
Rule 3, section 2, article 7
Tate had his feet on the ground first.
 @TheSkyIsFalling You are not reading the right rule...you should be reading Article 3, Item 5 of the NFL rule book. The second sentence is the key....
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Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control
Yeah, and Tate also shoved Sam Shields to the ground to get his air. There should have been no possession, no catch, no touchdown, nothing.... you only got the win because there was a blatant pass interference call that was missed. I would be shaking my head in disbelief if my team won a game in such a manner, and I sure would feel bad about it. I don't particularly care for either the packers or the seahawks. @TheSkyIsFalling
Name one Pro Team in any sport that would give back this win?............................................................................................ Oh that's right you can't because there is none. Yeah great Seahawk fans that are gloating about this and saying this is pay back for the super bowl shut up. I am a die hard Seahawk fan we have been fighting so hard to get some respect in the league and we could have gotten it with the way we played last night until this last call. But no the team and the Seattle fans are being ripped part for something that is not in any fans hands to fix. The owners and Goodell are the ones to blame here we need to focus on this and stop this back in this little name calling battle. How about we focus our energy to tell the players not to take to field this week to make a point to the owners that we the fans are tired of this crap. We are not helping the sport we all love by trying out name call some one. The NFL ruled it a win for the Seahawks it's not going change. So how about want to save the game?
Spoken like a true fan of the game. @Eric
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 @BeefStew You know what's funny.... WE GET THE WIN!
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Hahahahaha!
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Idiot.
And you're both soooo proud. I bet you're one of the wonderful people in the Hawks Nest that issues death threats to people who like other teams. Such a sad little life you lead. @Ethan Allen  @BeefStew
 @BeefStew LOL. I forgot how beautiful it is in Green Bay Wisconsin. We face the truth on a daily basis. For once a bad call went our way and the entire country is up in arms about it.
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Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Cheese Heads.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
They HAVE to let the ruling stand. If not, they'd have to give the Seahawks Superbowl rings......Good game, terrible officiating.
 @LoudNoises Except the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl fair and square. Fans of the losing Super Bowl teams always think the refs cost them the game. The refs didn't throw the interceptions, the refs didn't miss two field goals, the refs didn't level a player on the way into the half, the refs didn't manage the clock poorly, the refs didn't let the Steelers run all over the place, the refs didn't stop the Seahawks on crucial short yardage plays, the refs didn't catch the Steelers touchdowns etc etc.Â
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @LoudNoises @Pack.... read up on a little history and realize where the ref's did in fact impact the game. http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/2012/09/25/20-of-the-most-controversial-calls-in-sports-history/#7521101-20 Trust me... if this happened to have taken place in the Super Bowl you'd never forget either. But... it's not. Put your big boy pants and play out the rest of the season. Until then... you're a hypocritical WHINER!
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @LoudNoises You actually BELIEVE that the Hawks lost the Superbowl? THAT is amusing! Especially considering that good ol Ben Worthlessburger HIMSELF said that Pittsburgh lost that game. I really LOVE you East Coast Team fans......totally loyal, totally into your team, and sometimes, TOTALLY delusional. All of those sports "experts" on ESPN always count the NFC West out, especially against the old school "winning" teams. Guess what. The NFC West is a force to be reckoned with, and even the EAST coast is starting to figure that out. This season is going to have all of you hearing one thing......."Can You Hear Us Now?" GO HAWKS. (as a post script.....I don't like how the game was "won" either, and I'm a die hard Hawks fan. Bad calls get made. We live, and get past it. On to the next game.)
@PackersCougsBravesSounders @LoudNoises Remember the play where Matt got called for an illegal block when he was trying to tackle a player that had intercepted the ball? That call was worse than last nights.
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @LoudNoises Just admit your team isn't that great this year! If so, they would've score more then 12 points!!! Just think if your team would've, could've, should've, been able to score just one more time the game would've had a different ending.
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 Good luck against the Saints this Sunday!
 @Too funny!  @PackersCougsBravesSounders AND......Mr M.V.P. wouldn't have been sitting on the turf EIGHT times in the first half if G.B. was a good team this year.
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @LoudNoises But they did give Roethlisberger a touchdown that was clearly not a touchdown. Get over it cheese heads. You got screwed on a call in a week 3 game (that shouldn't have mattered due to the bad PI call that went Green Bays way). You can still go 14-2 and win the Superbowl.Â
 @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @Hachee_Bungwhy  @LoudNoises You are the one who sounds butt hurt to me. Get over it. Bad calls happen. GB's ONLY touchdown was full of them.
Same call was MISSED at the end of the game when all the stupidity ensued. Pass interference. @Hachee_Bungwhy  @PackersCougsBravesSounders  @LoudNoises
 @PackersCougsBravesSoundersÂ
The second part of your name betrays you.......... if you wnat a life of constant butt hurt, just enroll in WSU.
 @Hachee_Bungwhy  @LoudNoises Too bad it was actually a touchdown. Exactly what I mean though, just another butt hurt Seahawks fan.Â
What everyone SHOULD be talking about today was how the Seahawks played one of the NFL's elite teams and held their own. How maybe Seattle can use the 49er strategy of stifling defense and power running to carve a path to the playoffs. Instead, because of this substitute ref fiasco, the actual game has become secondary.
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Yes, there were bad calls against both teams. Also some really nasty cheap shots by both teams, because the refs are so far over their heads they didn't see any of it.
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But to have 4 blatant mistakes all go against the Packers (the roughing call on Wilson's INT, the phantom defensive pass interference, the ignored offensive pass interference, and the ridiculous possession ruling), all in the last few minutes, is just too much. What should have been a nice moral victory has turned into an immoral one. This game should leave Carroll, Wilson, Tate, and every Seahawk fan with a bad taste in their mouths, because they know they didn't earn it, and so does everyone else.
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We need the regular refs back. Now. The next team to get screwed out of a victory could be yours.
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 @MVDad The PI call if you go back and look at it could be considered correct. The camera angle that was the same angle as the official had, you can see that the defender had a handful of Rice's jersey keeping him from jumping up for the ball. He also had his hand on the defenders shoulder. Could go either way. The roughing the passer was a good call. We got called on the exact same thing so it was called the same way. The last play, well that was just terrible. How can you not call defensive PI on Tate? Or the missed leveling of Jennings by Browner down the field.
The call that should of been made is the push Tate gave to the defender. That was clear and obvious.... I think fans are about as sick as they can be about this replacement ref issue.Â
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GO SEAHAWKS
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Well, technically no one should really be overreacting to this since it was just a regular season game. It's not like it's a playoff game or even a Super Bowl game ('cause Hawks fans know that experience all too well! ;) ) More or less, it's an issue on these replacement refs more than anything.
I am not a Hawks fan nor a Packer fan... I am a football fan. But playing a game with poor officiating is like playing in the mud. Sure it's frustrating and sloppy, but it's the same conditions for both teams. So you can stand around complaining about the condititions or you can realize that despite the deplorable conditions the PLAYERS are still responsible for doing thier jobs. They are the only ones responsible for the outcome of the game. A small handful of highly publicized blown calls does not come close in comparison to the number of mised tackles, missed blocks, incomplete passes, blow routes, etc that ultimately affect the outcome of a game.Â
 @football fan Disagree. When you play a game in the mud, it eliminates the talent differences between the players, and becomes a game of who slipped first. Same goes here. Talent has taken a back seat to the luck of the draw. Ability and achievement are no longer rewarded, because ultimately the game will be decided by incompetents.
Let's not forget the bad officiating (gift calls) that gave Green Bay their one and only touchdown.
 @Nick I was wondering if someone was going to bring this up, because it's true. Â
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Let's imagine for a bit, turn both bad calls into good calls and what are you left with? Â Packers had 1 less touchdown and the Seahawks had 1 less touchdown. However, Seahawks still would have won.
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In the end, I think it was right for the Seahawks to win.
I have read the all of the comments presented so far. I agree the call was questionable and controversial. The call of pass interference by the Seahawks, in the end zone during this play has been mentioned and was also a missed call. Another missed call was the obvious roughing the passer by Clay Mathews against Wilson before the ball ever reached the end zone.This was a defensive penalty on the last play of the game which should have resulted in a penalty against Green Bay and the final play in the end zone would have been a moot point.Â
"The NFL conceded Tuesday that a bad call cost the Green Bay Packers the game while upholding the Seattle Seahawks' victory."
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That statement is not accurate. The NFL did not acknowledge it was a bad call. They acknowledged there was insufficient evidence to overturn the call.
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000066164/article/nfl-supports-decision-to-not-overturn-seahawks-touchdown
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 @al_wa The bad call was the push, should have been an offensive pass interference making the catch a non issue.
 @oledawg  @al_waÂ
There was no call on the push. Therefore it could not have been the"bad call".
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The call in question was the touchdown.
 @al_wa "The NFL said Seattle's last-second touchdown pass Monday should not have been overturned - but acknowledged Seahawks receiver Golden Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch for a 14-12 victory."
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Go read the official NFL statement. Â OK it was a "no call vs a "bad call" but this is what they are referring to.
I seem to remember a bad call during a SeaHawks game a few years ago that cost them the game. Bad calls go both ways. They are unfortunate - but they do happen and that's just the way it goes.
@maesmaze Bad calls go both ways, that is true. But there are more and more bad calls this year because the replacement refs are inexperienced and, in most cases incompetetent. It is too bad that Goddell is permitting this to happen over a few dollars. And it is a few dollars when one looks how much the NFL generates in one year.
@Frank525 The replay official who still called it a TD is NOT a replacement ref, only the on field refs are. Pretty hard to blame it all on replacement refs.
 But the call on the field does matter and the replay official needs indisputable visual evidence to overturn the call.  I think either call in this situation stands up.  Remember that both officials originally made different calls.Â
 @maesmaze The Super Bowl, 1998 vs the Jets that cost the Seahawks a trip to the playoffs and Dennis Erickson his job...not that Erickson was a great coach here but still, botched calls has cost this team plenty over the years.