The clear and obvious pass interference that wasn’t called on 3rd down wasn’t the sole reason New Orleans lost to Los Angeles in overtime – the Rams did, after all, drive the length of the field, tie the game, force a Drew Brees interception, then make a game-winning 57-yard field goal. But that non-flag will go down as arguably the biggest missed call in NFL history. But does it top the list in all of sports?
6) 1979 AFC Championship Game:
The Oilers and Steelers met in back-to-back AFC title games, with Pittsburgh winning both times. The second win wasn’t without controversy, however. With Houston trailing 17-10 in the third quarter, Mike Renfro caught a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone – a difficult diving catch, yes, but he pretty clearly got both feet down inbounds, right in front of the official. It was ruled incomplete, Houston settled for a field goal, and Pittsburgh scored 10 unanswered points to pull away.
5) Armando Galarraga’s perfect game: This had no championship ramifications, but Galarraga should have been awarded the 21st perfect game in MLB history on June 2, 2010. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth the Tigers’ pitcher forced Jason Donald to ground to first, causing a race to the bag. Galarraga accepted the toss from the first baseman and beat Donald to the bag, but Jim Joyce ruled Donald safe. A few years before instant replay the call stood and the perfecto was broken.
Immediately after the game Joyce and Galarraga met and embraced, in an act of sportsmanship by both sides that was widely praised.
4) 1986 World Cup quarterfinal:
One of the greatest players in soccer history scored what is surely the most controversial goal of all-time. In the 51st minute of a scoreless game between Argentina and England, Argentine star Diego Maradona chased after a cross into the box. As goalkeeper Peter Shilton charged over, Maradona jumped and swatted the ball with his hand into the net, an obvious handball.
The referee missed it, Maradona scored another (legal) goal four minutes later, and Argentina advanced to the semifinals, ultimately winning the World Cup.
3) 2019 NFC Championship:
Within minutes of the game ending Sean Payton was told by the NFL that the call was blown… twice – once for pass interference, another for a blow near the head. The would-be offender, Rams’ defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman himself admitted that he arrived early.
What did it cost New Orleans? A first down with 1:48 to go would have likely led to two scenarios: the Saints score a touchdown and go up 27-20, or they wind the clock all the way down, force Los Angeles to use its final timeout then kick a field goal with less than 20 seconds or so on the clock. In other words? It likely cost them a Super Bowl berth.
2) The Fifth Down Game, 1990:
The opposite happened to the Colorado Buffaloes in 1990 – a referee’s blunder ultimately helped win them a national championship. At 3-1-1 entering the early October meeting against rival Missouri, another loss would have ended any title hopes.
With less than 3:00 left the Buffs took over down 31-27, needing a touchdown to win. They’d drive down the field with about 40 seconds left, when chaos ensued. Jon Boman caught a pass short of the goal line for a first down, when quarterback Charles Johnson ran up to spike the ball. That made it second down, when Eric Bieniemy was stuffed at the one-yard line. Before the third down play Colorado called a timeout. During this time, the chain gang never changed the down marker, so it still said second down, and no one seemed to notice.
Bieniemy was stuffed again on what should have been third down, then Johnson (thinking it was third down) spiked the ball with two seconds left. That should have been the fourth down play, and the Tigers should have won. Alas, the Buffs were given an additional play, and though Johnson may have actually been tackled short, he scored the game-winning touchdown. Officials realized their mistakes, took 20 minutes to decide a course of action, and ruled the TD counted anyways. Colorado finished the year 11-1-1 and shared a national championship with Georgia Tech.
1) 1985 World Series:
The Cardinals led the Royals 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth of Game 6, three outs away from a World Series. Kansas City’s Jorge Orta led off the inning with a chopper to second, and video shows he was beaten to the bag by a solid half-step for what should have been the inning’s first out. Instead, he was ruled safe, setting up a disastrous ninth for St. Louis pitcher Todd Worrell.
Steve Balboni singled, and a failed sacrifice bunt, passed ball and intentional walk loaded the bases with one out, when Dane Iorg singled home the two game-winning runs. Kansas City won the game, then cruised 11-0 in Game 7 to win the World Series.