Championship Games Questionable (Blown) Calls?

[JohnTurney]

2018 Rams-Saints, Robey-Coleman non-DPI call

1977 Broncos-Raiders—Rob Lytle non-fumble

1974 Rams Vikings—Questionable Tom Mack false start

1978 Oilers Steelers—Mike Renfro non-TD call

Others?

[Mark]

What about Kordell Stewart stepping out of bounds before catching a TD in the 1995 AFC championship game? IIRC correctly he didn't gain any advantage in doing so but technically it should have been called. [I couldn't find a HL so just going off of memory]

[BD Sullivan]

1961: Chargers get flagged 10 times for 106 yards and Sid Gillman had to be restrained from going after an official after the game

1967: Jerry Kramer false start on Starr's TD.

1986: Rich Karlis GW field goal in OT.

[conace21]

What about Kordell Stewart stepping out of bounds before catching a TD in the 1995 AFC championship game? IIRC correctly he didn't gain any advantage in doing so but technically it should have been called. [I couldn't find a HL so just going off of memory]

Kordell stepped out of bounds 3x.

Don Chandler's game tying FG against Baltimore in the Tom Matte QB game.

[Rupert Patrick]

1958 - The questionable spot of the ball on the play where Marchetti broke his leg in the Greatest Game Ever Played.

[7DnBrnc53]

What about Kordell Stewart stepping out of bounds before catching a TD in the 1995 AFC championship game? IIRC correctly he didn't gain any advantage in doing so but technically it should have been called. [I couldn't find a HL so just going off of memory]

Earlier in that game, a Steeler WR was hit in the back at the Colt 2 by Jason Belser before the ball got there, but nothing was called.

Also, later that day in Irving, Jay Novacek had an obvious legal pick on a Deion catch and run that wasn't called. Holmgren was furious after that play.

[Citizen]

What makes the call on Sunday stand out from the rest is that it determined the game's outcome. If it's called correctly, the Rams have virtually no chance of winning.

Many of the other examples cited happened early enough in their respective games that they might not have mattered at the end.

[Bryan]

What makes the call on Sunday stand out from the rest is that it determined the game's outcome. If it's called correctly, the Rams have virtually no chance of winning.

Many of the other examples cited happened early enough in their respective games that they might not have mattered at the end.

Agree. I think something of note is that two things could have been called on the Saints-Rams blown call...PI as well as helmet-to-helmet targeting. Kind of like John Stallworth's non-TD catch in the 1974 AFC Championship game...he catches the ball in-bounds, and Nemiah Wilson pins his arm well before the ball arriving...its either a TD or a PI with the ball on the 1.

Other bad calls

1969 AFL Title Game - Otis Taylor sideline catch

[JuggernautJ]

1983 (season) NFC Championship Game (from Wikipedia):

After the 49ers erased a 21–0 fourth quarter deficit, two controversial penalties against San Francisco led to the Redskins' kicker Mark Moseley overcoming an awful day and kicking the winning field goal.

And, more specifically, after the Niners tied the game...

The Redskins then marched on a 13-play, 78-yard drive that took 6:12 off the clock and set up Moseley's 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds left in the game. This possession was aided by two controversial penalties:

1. On second down and 10 on the San Francisco 45-yard line, Theismann threw a long incompletion intended for wide receiver Art Monk, but cornerback Eric Wright was called for pass interference at the 18-yard line. It seemed that nobody had a reasonable chance to catch the ball, which, under the rule, would have nullified any pass interference penalty. San Francisco head coach Bill Walsh was quoted after the game as saying "It could not have been caught by a 10-foot Boston Celtic."

2. On third down and 5 from the San Francisco 13-yard line, Lott was called for holding on what seemed to be a harmless act with Brown far away from where the pass fell incomplete.

Not that after 35 years there are any hard feelings but....