Stop reading if you’ve heard this before, but the NFL’s over-complicated officiating process made the New Orleans Saints draw the short straw. The Saints needed the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the San Francisco 49ers so that New Orleans could clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs, and they nearly got it when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson targeted tight end Jacob Hollister in the end zone. But Hollister’s arm was trapped by 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, and the pass fell incomplete. No penalty flags for defensive pass interference followed it.
And the officiating crew on-hand didn’t stop the game to review what happened.