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All referees try to make the right call on the fly in every sport. Most of the time, this isn’t the case, as, without the help of technology, it’s nearly impossible to get every call right, especially in the NFL. Hence, cameras and instant replay are a huge part of most sports, including our beloved NFL football.
In this article, we outlined five separate crucial instances where instant replay changed the outcome of a call in an NFL match.
In this November 1989 game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, instantly replay would affect the outcome. The game was nearing its end at a 7-13 scoreline before Green Bay’s QB Don Majkowski threw a peach of a pass to Sterling Sharpe to score a fourth-down touchdown, which would be called back immediately for an illegal forward pass.
Despite how upset the Packers were at the initial call due to the accusation that Majkowski had thrown the ball past the line of scrimmage, a long replay review would uncover that the ball was actually behind the line of scrimmage when thrown, making it one of the first of many scenarios where instantly replay would not only overturn the result of a call but the entire result of a game.
One of the most notorious instant replay scenarios where a call was overturned after extensive review was during a January 2015 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. Cowboys WR Dez Bryant seemingly caught an incredible toss on a game-changing fourth down late at the end of the game.
While the catch was originally good, Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy challenged the play and, after review, made the controversial call that Bryant failed to maintain possession of the ball as he hit the ground, stating the “process of catch” NFL rule. In the end, the Cowboys were disappointed by the fact that instant replay changed the call, although ultimately, it was the right one.
This is one of the few instances where the wrong call ends up being made due to limitations on the use of instant replay, effectively changing the entire outcome of the game. In a 2014 NFC Championship match between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, NaVorro Bowman (who’d play with a torn ACL and MCL late in the game) of the 49ers managed to strip the ball from Seahawks WR Jermaine Kearse before scooping up the ball and getting piled on by Seahawks players.
Eventually, Marshawn Lynch emerged with the football, leading the refs to think the Seahawks maintained possession. It’s a known rule that you may not challenge the play on a fumble, so ultimately, the Seahawks maintained the ball through the scuffle, although they’d lose it the next drive on a subsequent fumble.
In one of the most recent cases where the NFL’s instant replay affected the outcome of a call and game, the Detroit Lions managed to barely scrape out the win due to the help of video review.
With just under 4 minutes left in the final quarter, the Packers tied up the game 31-31 with a field goal before the Lions would net an extra 3 points off a field goal in the dying seconds of the game, only after a last-minute touchdown by the Packers had been called “out-of-bounds” by officials, effectively saving the Lions their lead until the end of the game.
In a 2001 match between the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars, Browns WR Quincy Morgan nabbed a pass for first down during 4th and 1. On the next play, Browns QB Tim Couch spiked the ball, and the referees went on to review Morgan’s catch, eventually finding that Morgan never truly had control of the ball, making the pass incomplete.
From this, the Jaguars won possession, prompting hundreds of angry fans to throw bottles and other objects on the field, hence the name “Bottlegate”, which concluded the game once the incident began. Funny enough, this call was also overturned, forcing players back onto the field where the Jaguars would finish off the Browns in a hailstorm of plastic bottles.
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.