The story of the NFC championship game has been a crucial pass interference no-call that robbed the New Orleans Saints of a chance to go inside the 10-yard line with 1:45 remaining, likely going ahead for good had they scored a touchdown. Instead, the Los Angeles Rams were able to tie on a field goal and then win in overtime.
The call in question seems to be fairly obvious on replay, which shows Nickell Robey-Coleman hitting Tommylee Lewis well before the ball arrives, and in fact, the league acknowledged the referees’ mistake after the game.
Even Robey-Coleman thought it was PI until the referees ruled the play incomplete. As he explained postgame, he wasn’t playing the ball at the time, and he even thanked the refs for their role in the team’s win.
Respect the call, Robey-Coleman tells Saints fans. He just seems happy to have gotten away with it — and why shouldn’t he be? The Rams are off to the Super Bowl next, in which they’ll play the winner of the Chiefs-Patriots AFC championship.
We’re sure that Saints fans will be bitterly reminded of this moment when they see Robey-Coleman and the Rams take to the field in that game, but Los Angeles can just thank the refs and move on. It wasn’t just Robey-Coleman — even Todd Gurley got in on the action, posting an incredible photoshop shortly after the end of the game.
