The NFL, in a legal filing in response to a lawsuit filed in Orleans Civil District Court, says replaying even the final minutes of the NFC Championship Game would delay the Super Bowl that's set for February 3, The New Orleans Advocate reports.
The league also wants the case, which seeks refunds to all ticket holders in the Superdome on January 20, moved to federal court.
The filing doesn't directly address the blown call itself. Had any of the referees at the game thrown a flag on the play, which came on third down with 1:49 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Saints would have been given a fresh set of downs and the ball spotted either at the spot of the foul near the five-yard line for the pass interference, or half the distance to the goal from the 13-yard line for the helmet-to-helmet personal foul. It also would have let the Saints bleed time off the clock, leaving Los Angeles little to no time to mount a drive to get them into range for a game-tying field goal.
