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Just like any other human, referees make mistakes. This should not, however, occur in the playoffs in any sport, as referees, just like any other profession, are responsible for doing the best they can to make the correct unbiased calls.
While no player wants to have the results of their game solely affected by the referee, in the NFL, it can be more commonplace than desired. That’s why, we looked throughout NFL history and identified the most controversial refereeing decisions in NFL playoff history, including when the game was, what teams were playing and what the controversial call on the field was.
Starting the list is none other than the two-decade-old 1999 NFC Championship, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced a strong St. Louis Rams team. Bert Emanual of the Buccaneers made a crucial 13-yard reception which was later called back after reviewing the replay due to the fact the nose of the ball touched the ground.
Even though it seemed like Emanuyal had full control of the ball off the pass, the play was ruled incomplete, leading to a spark of rule changes across the NFL to help clarify what is considered a valid catch.
In this 2002 NFC Wild Card game against the New York Giants, the San Francisco 49ers may have committed one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history. The Giants, up 24 points at this time, suffered from this call. What originally was supposed to be a punt from New York’s Matt Allen ended up being a botched throw, where the intended recipient Rich Seubert was pulled down by 49ers Chike Okeafor.
The holding call wasn’t made, however, and after reviewing the play it was determined that a penalty was called on the Giants for an ineligible receiver getting involved in the play.
The infamous Music City Miracle happened in the 1999 AFC Wild Card game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills. The Bills led the game 16-15 with just 16 seconds left on the clock, while the kickoff was heading to the Titans. Throughout this last-ditch effort of a play, Neal received the ball off the punt and quickly gave it to Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral to Kevin Dyson and ran 75 yards to score the game-winning touchdown for the Titans. After extensive review of the lateral in particular, the play was ruled legal, and Tennessee experienced their first Music City Miracle.
If you’ve ever watched Tom Brady play for the New England Patriots, then you might’ve heard of the tuck rule stemming as far back as the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoffs. While the Patriots hosted the Raiders in an epic snowfall match, they were down just three points 13-10 with less than two minutes left on the clock.
During the next play, Tom Brady dropped the ball after being hit by Raiders Charles Woodson, seemingly leading to a fumble, where Raiders Greg Biekert recovered possession of the loose ball. Looking back at the replay, the referees called this an incomplete pass as opposed to the original fumble call, giving the Pats the ball back to score the game-tying and winning field goals in overtime.
Finally, one of the most mind-boggling plays of all time occurred during the 1972 AFC Divisional Playoffs between the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers. With just 22 seconds left, the Steelers were losing 7-6 and needed a real miracle to happen fast. At their own 40, Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw heaved an intended pass to Frenchy Fuqua, which bounced off the Raiders’ Jack Tatum directly to the Steelers’ Franco Harris standing several yards back, who managed to run the ball to the endzone for the win.
This play was considered controversial though, as for one, the camera angles at the time barely show whether the ball touches the ground as Harris grabs it, and two, the ball had to touch Jack Tatum before any other Steelers receiver could repossess the ball, which after extensive analysis of the play, was ruled a legal touchdown.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.