Packers vs. Seahawks: Replaying the debacle [Video]

By Houston Mitchell

Sept. 25, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Monday night’s game between the &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORSPT000042”&amp;gt;Green Bay Packers&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORSPT000058”&amp;gt;Seattle Seahawks&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; may have had the most surreal ending of any game in &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORSPT000007”&amp;gt;NFL&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; history. And it has brought renewed focus on the less-than-average performance of the NFL’s replacement referees.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Trailing 12-7, Seahawks quarterback &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”PESPT0015762”&amp;gt;Russell Wilson&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; lofted a pass into the end zone on the final play of the game. Packers safety &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”PESPT0013795”&amp;gt;M.D. Jennings&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; outjumped a crowd of Packers and Seahawks to grab the ball. Though when he landed, Seahawks receiver &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”PESPT0014277”&amp;gt;Golden Tate&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; grabbed the ball too, it was clearly an interception.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;But the replacement officials saw it a different way: Touchdown Seahawks. Victory Seahawks.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://graphics.latimes.com/ranking-la-sp-times-nfl-rankings-week-3/”&amp;gt;Full list: Times’ NFL power rankings&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Or, as Times columnist Bill Plaschke &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/sports/football/nfl/la-sp-0925-plaschke-nfl-officials-20120925-28,0,1808277.column”&amp;gt;put it&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;:&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”Three weeks of gross incompetence by unqualified replacement officials crystallized in two moments Monday night that pushed the league’s integrity to the brink.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In one moment, Packers safety &amp;lt;a class=”taxInlineTagLink” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/football/m.d.-jennings-PESPT0013795.topic”&amp;gt;M.D. Jennings&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; clearly intercepted a final-play pass while falling upon Seahawks receiver &amp;lt;a class=”taxInlineTagLink” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/football/golden-tate-PESPT0014277.topic”&amp;gt;Golden Tate&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; in the end zone, preserving an apparent 12-7 Green Bay win.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In the next moment, the replacement officials ruled that Tate had made the catch, and upheld that ruling after replay review, giving the Seahawks a 14-12 victory.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Said Packers Coach &amp;lt;a class=”taxInlineTagLink” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/football/mike-mccarthy-PESPT00008924.topic”&amp;gt;Mike McCarthy&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;: “I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years in football.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Hall of Fame quarterback &amp;lt;a class=”taxInlineTagLink” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/football/troy-aikman-PESPT0014773.topic”&amp;gt;Troy Aikman&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; tweeted: “These games are a joke.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;It’s finally happened. After three weeks of forgetting the rules, losing track of the ball, and haphazardly administering this country’s national pastime as if they were salesmen on vacation from &amp;lt;a class=”taxInlineTagLink” href=”https://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/foot-locker-incorporated-ORCRP006068.topic”&amp;gt;Foot Locker&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, the replacement officials have finally done serious, irrevocable damage. The arrogant NFL’s middle-school and small-college substitutes for the locked-out regular officials have finally, actually, literally made one wrong call that decided the outcome of a game.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. You can watch the play in question above.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0925-packers-seahawks-20120925,0,7682666.story”&amp;gt;Seahawks stun Packers on disputed play, 14-12&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-seattle-seahawks-golden-tate-20120925,0,7010029.story”&amp;gt;Golden Tate’s big game overshadowed by controversy&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br /&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-green-bay-seattle-twitter-reax-20120925,0,4743840.story”&amp;gt;Packers players, NFL fans tweet frustration over replacement refs&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Packers vs. Seahawks: Replaying the debacle [Video]

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