All too often in the NFL we see plays or calls by officials that causes us to question the integrity of the game. At times it feels like a game has been decided long before its over. It’s driven a lot of fans to think the NFL is already predetermined.
Between blown fantom penalties and no calls some actions are just too hard to defend. After we go over the 10 Most RIGGED Moments in NFL History you might just think it’s all scripted too.
Brady and Roughing the Passer
In recent years the NFL has started cracking down hard on roughing the passer. It’s no secret that veteran quarterbacks can sometimes get special treatment from the refs, but what happens when that treatment goes too far. We saw it live in 2019 when the Patriots took on the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Chris Jones was called for roughing the passer after just barely tapping Brayd on his helmet in an attempt to sack him. This call came in the fourth quarter and completely changed the trajectory of the game allowing the Patriots to come away with the win.
Minneapolis Miracle
This specific play makes the list because of just how impossible it should have been. With 10 seconds left on their own 40 yard line all it took was a simple corner route for the Vikings to beat the Saints and advance to the NFC Championship game.
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In what world does the defense not have at least three players deeper than any receiver in this situation. To top it off as well, Saints safety Marcus Williams missed possibly one of the easiest tackles ever with Stefon Diggs in the air to catch the ball.
Santonio Holmes Gets Both Feet Down?
Super Bowl XLIII was an amazing battle between the Cardinals and Steelers but it is really defined by one play. In the corner of the endzone Santonio Holmes would make what seemed like an impossible catch scoring the touchdown that won them the game, but it’s a catch that was at the center of controversy for a long time.
No more than 10 years later with new and improved technology there’s lots of evidence to support the idea it should have never counted.
Did Dez Catch It?
It seems like anytime the NFL tries to determine what a catch is there’s different criteria it has to meet. We saw this in full effect when the Cowboys took on the Packers in the 2014 NFC Divisional round. A play that would pretty much seal a victory for the Packers is still talked about to this day.
After Dez came down with a ball that would spot Dallas at the two yard line it would be overturned after officials went to the replay. Three years after the game NFl decision makers would go on to say he in fact did make the catch.
Super Bowl LI
Tom Brady and the Patriots mounted the largest Super Bowl comeback of all time back in 2017 after being down 28-3 at one point in the third quarter. Now if you’re an NFL conspiracy theorist you’re not gonna be surprised that a Brady led team has yet again made it on this list.
It’s just hard to explain how a team can have such a total meltdown after playing almost perfect for two straight quarters. This kind of result has rigged spelt all over it.
Rams Pass Interference No Call
At some point you have to feel for these Saints fans as they once again experience a heartbreaking playoff loss. This time as the hand of the Rams and the referee who missed one of the worst pass interferences of all time.
If there was a right call on the field the Saints would have been almost guaranteed a win by running down the clock and winning the game by touchdown or field goal.
The Fail Mary
Monday Night Football might have hit its all time high on September 24, 2012 when the Seahawks and Packers put together an amazing game with an even better ending. What is now coined as the Fail Mary was completely botched by the replacement referees used that year.
With Seattle’s receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay’s safety M.D. Jennings both coming down with the ball in their arms in the endzone it was up to the refs to decide who had the ball. In the end they were completely wrong giving it to the Seahawks who would win the game.
Super Bowl XL
Considering the Super Bowl is one of the most watched and anticipated sporting events of the year it’s weird how questionable the referees are in it. Referee Bill Leacy himself even went on record saying him and the rest of the crew heavily affected the outcome of the game.
There were many parts of the game to just pinpoint one moment but if you ask any Seahawks fan about it they’ll definitely have their opinions about it.
The Taylor Swift Effect
When the Chiefs took on the Jets during week four on Sunday Night Football it was obvious the NFL couldn’t get enough of the relationship between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and singer Taylor Swift. It’s a situation that had led a lot of fans to speculate the NFL helping the Chiefs to victories to further push the story.
On third and long with a victory seemingly right in front of the Jets the Chiefs would benefit from a holding call to effectively give the win to Kansas City. It’s a penalty that’s heavily debated whether there was enough to even be penalized. After reviewing the film as well people noticed there was a blatant holding call missed that should have offset the penalties anyways.
Super Bowl Power Outage
During Super Bowl XLVII between the Ravens and 49ers a power outage would delay the game for 34 minutes during the third quarter. At the time the Ravens held the lead at 28-6 as San Francisco showed they had no idea how to stop the historic Ravens defense.
When the game ended and Baltimore won by just three points at 34-31 many fans began their conspiracy theories. The most popular opinion was that the NFL purposefully put out the power to give the 49ers more time to gameplan and potentially win the game.
