If you're a Steelers fan, you're likely quite happy with the 11-10 win over the Chargers. If you're a Chargers fan, you're likely pretty bummed that San Diego's defense buckled in the final minutes. And if you're someone can name your local bookie, and you had the Steelers -4.5 points, you're likely looking to hunt down referee Scott Green right now.The Steelers defense had one of its typical dominating games: they held the Chargers to 213 yards, James Harrison forced a safety with a sack and Phillip Rivers was pressured into two crucial interceptions. All of that was just enough because the Steelers offense, while effective, kept shooting itself in the foot. But in the final minutes, Pittsburgh drove down the field to set up a Jeff Reed game-winning field goal.
That's what happened in the game, and we'll go into in more detail over the next couple of days. But what really mattered to anyone who had some money on the game happened in the final five seconds. After a lateral on the kick return turned into nothing good for San Diego, the Chargers had the ball at their own 21 needing a miracle. Gamblers who had bet on the Steelers (-4.5) were also in need of a divine intervention.Knowing that Philip Rivers couldn't heave a ball 80+ yards, Rivers instead dumped off the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson just a couple of yards downfield. LT then lateraled the ball to Chris Chambers, who tried to toss a second lateral to Marcus McNeil/Philip Rivers (hey it was desperation time). Troy Polamalu saw that lateral coming from 10 yards away, flew up to knock the ball away, then scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. The Chargers may not have gotten their miracle, but many gamblers (and fantasy football players) had sure gotten there prayers answered.
If you had the Steelers, you had several minutes to celebrate the 17-10 win. But as the two teams started to shake hands at midfield, the replay assistant buzzed down asking to check the laterals. After four minutes of everyone standing around for a game that was already over, Green announced that there was an illegal forward pass on Tomlinson's lateral to Chambers, which killed the play then and there. But CBS' Jim Nantz misheard Green, and said that the game ended with the Steelers winning 17-10. Gamblers who had the Steelers were still celebrating.
But then as the two teams went out for a second set of handshakes, just as some gamblers were likely trying to collect their winnings at the sports books in Las Vegas, Nantz caught his error and announced that since the play was an illegal forward pass, the play ended at that point.
How Green was able to determine that Tomlinson's lateral was a forward pass from the angles CBS showed would be shocking--the replays looked very inconclusive. Maybe he made the right call, but it was sure hard to tell. But that's no consolation to anyone who had laid money on the Steelers.
But hey, we did get the first 11-10 game in NFL history. And if you lost a couple of hundred dollars or your fantasy football game because of the reversal, you probably don't care at all.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-16-2008 @ 10:11PM
t said...
I have never seen any other team, in all the enormous amount of pro- and college football i watch, who get as many insane, unbelieveable, unimagineable calls as the Steelers. It's almost as if the officials and the NFL actively strive to prevent Pittsburgh from dominating the league every year.
Every single week the refs play waaaaaayyyy too big a part in Steelers games. No other team ever sees the kind of calls or the devastating timing of penalties i see the Steelers charged with. Aside from SB XL, the Steelers have been mugged, waylayed, bamboozled, shanghai'd, ransacked, screwed, blued and tattoo'd by more ridiculous officiating than the other 31 teams combined.
If Pittsburgh recieved the same frequency and quality of officiating the other teams do they'd have double-digit Superbowls victories. Dispute this point if you feel it necessary, but that won't change the truth of it. Just think of the Thanksgiving Day Debacle in Detroit a few years back and go from there...
Luckily, Pittsburgh is a good enough team with enough heart to beat opponents AND officials regularly.
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11-16-2008 @ 11:39PM
lol said...
That's why Dallas is the most penalized team by far this year right?
Can you be quiet, refs keeping the steelers from DOMINATING the league every year? LOL just like they dominated the Giants, the 16-0 Patriots and the Jaguars twice last year.
How about getting a new stadium or improve the poor conditions of the field.
11-17-2008 @ 7:49AM
slumlord said...
Appearnty tsaid does not watch any game but Steeler games; I thought that that was a TD. The Buffalo Bills get rooked the most especially this year is more evident than in recent years.Nonthe less I do believe that it is fixed,and is soly entertaintment. I guess this is why the have revenue sharing.Where do you think they get the money to pay these clowns millions of dollars LAS VEGAS they(Owners) make so much cash from Vegas from gambling. Do you realy think that the Rooney family would let so one profit from their team without compension?
11-16-2008 @ 10:16PM
Robert said...
I am a Charger fan. But anybody that thinks they can win with LT then El Toe and now El Me is wrong. This guy is washed up or just has a bad attitude. He always seems to have an excuse. If the Chargers still had Michael Turner they would be much better. Please, will somebody please trade us a real runnung back for him! Today was just another game with under 100yds rushing, as usual!
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11-19-2008 @ 3:52AM
mystermyke1 said...
i had this crazy dream that the steelers traded mewelde moore back to the vikings, for some washed up 34 year old make believe guy richard sumthingerother. ill take that trade it richard sumthingerother is l.t. its called revitalization. get a pick for him or something steelers dont l.t. we need a j.b.
1-09-2009 @ 5:28AM
valerie said...
chargers were close
:-) chin up
http://www.jobstaxi.com
11-17-2008 @ 7:10AM
Oak said...
LT's "lateral" wasn't. I had the Steelers giving 4.5, and was initially apopleptic. But, after seeing the replay angles at halftime of the Racist American Indian Team vs Cowboys, it was clear LT threw a forward pass. Not nearly as outrageous a 'fix' as it first seemed.
Drink up!
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11-17-2008 @ 12:45AM
Rick King said...
Bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I watched it 20 times and it easily was a lateral.
11-16-2008 @ 11:06PM
Rick King said...
If you look at the final play of the Steelers Chargers game the ball was lateraled back at least 2 yards and they overturned it. I watched the replay twice and there is no doubt it was a lateral. I got totally ripped off for over $600.00 and I have decided that I will never bet on NFL again. There seems to be too much fixing going on. Just look at all the penalties the Steelers had and every time when they had a big gain. The last play will always be a touch down in my mind and I am totally disappointed in this turn of events. I say BULLSHIT!!!!!
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11-18-2008 @ 9:04AM
lewis shinn said...
damn right that ref greene made alot of money on that game he needs to split his profit with me and rick king this is bullshit!!!! he should never ref again!!!!!
11-16-2008 @ 11:20PM
me said...
the chargers sooooooooooo chould have one!!!!!!!!!
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11-16-2008 @ 11:34PM
chris said...
The nfl purposely called it a forward pass even though they new it wasnt, which confirms the league is corrupt, i mean it was so obvious the steelers scored a touchdown at the end. There was Zero seconds on the clock, and the Nfl can still change it to the right call. but their friends who corrupted the league wont let it happen, so it will stay 11-10. This game proves the NFL is corrupted at some level. Its a shame that they would go to great lengths for their pals in vegas. Even though it was obvious their was no forward pass. What a shame once again.....
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11-17-2008 @ 11:38AM
SuperGrover said...
Try to find and read the book:How the Mafia influences the NFL.Your'll never bet your money again.This league was set up for betting and betting alone.Right after the blacksox scandel they had to have a new game in town for the gamblers and the NFL was invented.
11-16-2008 @ 11:53PM
marty said...
what a joke. the nfl acknowledged that they blew the call but wouldn't change the final score. it's all about vegas. they had already paid out to those who held charger tickets and can't get the money back. if the nfl now changes the score, those who are holding steeler tickets also get to cash them in and vegas loses millions - everyone who bet the game wins. that's why the nfl won't correct the score. they will cost vegas millions and millions of dollars.
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11-17-2008 @ 1:12AM
Tim B said...
I am a Steeler fan… And I DO NOT bet on football… or any other sport. My take is this…
Troy Polamalu made a fantastic read on the play, and made a great effort to give his team a few extra points at the end of a game they had already won… I was excited, the Steeler fans were excited, and The team was excited… lets go to the locker room on a high note guys!!
Then.. We all saw what happened so im not going through all that again. But there is a point to all this..
The “penalty” that was called was on Tomlinson for an illegal forward pass (it may or may not have been its pretty close).. should have been treated as such... and it WAS at first..
During a “regular” play… the ball is only blown dead if said pass hits the ground. Otherwise play continues and the Steelers would have had the choice of accepting or declining that penalty, based on the outcome of the play.
The fact to consider is that Tomlinsons lateral (or forward pass) NEVER hit the ground. It was caught by Chambers, who then made a perfectly legal lateral, which was broken up by Troy… (at which point it becomes a fumble), then scooped up and carried in for a score.
The Steelers would have declined the penalty and the score should have stood. Plain and simple.
So we have determined that whether the pass was illegal OR NOT.. the play should stand and the score should count. Dispute this if you dare… but I assure you cannot tell me im wrong.
The issue is WHY on gods green earth was the play reviewed when there was no time on the clock, the steelers had won the game (either way), And the touchdown was signaled… correctly?
Did anyone see the referees’ THIRD ruling on the play when he explaind the play was dead and took away the touchdown? He ran out on the field, shook his head in disbelief and confusion, delivered the damaging news… and ran like hell off the field.
Find someone who tivo’ed the game… you will see im right. Somebody didn’t want that touchdown to count… and instant replay was used to take away otherwise “meaningless” points.
I want to know why.
I also cant help but wonder that if the Chargers would have somehow scored on that play... would it have been reviewed?
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11-17-2008 @ 2:11AM
Bill said...
Better decision making by Philip Rivers in the red zone is critical if the Chargers are to win any games. For instance, on the 3rd and goal late in the 4th quarter Rivers should have thrown to a wide open Chris Chambers who was running a slant pattern right by the goal line. Instead, Rivers throws to a well covered Antonio Gates, and of course the pass was incomplete. Rivers has got to do better in the red zone, and especially in the 4th quarter.
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11-17-2008 @ 2:24AM
tito said...
as someone who bet on this game and had the chargers getting 5 points, my emotions went from joy to worry to physically sick to completely elated in the matter of 4 minutes. The call was totally wrong but for those of us who had the Chargers and the points all that matters is whats in the books. I am just wondering if anyone in Vegas actually got to cash a Steelers bet once it was originally shown to be final and then switched. If anyone was fast enough and lucky enough to get a winner with the Steelers, I would love to hear about it.
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11-17-2008 @ 5:39AM
Michael said...
The person who said all calls against the Steelers? Was I the only one watching that absurd Seattle-Pittsburgh Super Bowl?
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11-17-2008 @ 11:23AM
Joel said...
Superbowl XL? I thought that was a perfectly legitimately called game. Seattle's receiver did push off and was appropriately flagged...he didn't even hide it well. That game was fairly boring in my opinion and the Seahawks' whining after getting beat in a good old scrum didn't change that one bit.
The post regarding the 1st lateral being the one in question is correct...the ref clarified after that game. Since it didn't touch the ground, the call was bogusz and the TD should have been counted. All in all...there were some very shady goings on in this game that need some investigation.
11-17-2008 @ 4:50PM
tara said...
Are we still whining about this? I saw 2 penalties called on the seahawks that were questionable. The chop block and another one that I can't remember because it was SO LONG AGO. Stop blaming the refs for that one and look at the poor clock management and sloppy play. Neither team played well that day. Let me know when the Seahawks get called 13/115. and the opponent is 1/5.