Sports

Saints lose to Rams in NFC Championship after one of the worst missed calls you'll see on a huge fourth-quarter play

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via Fox/NFL
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The Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints, 26-23, in overtime, on Sunday in the NFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl.

However, the talk of the game will be dominated by a huge missed call by the referees late in the fourth quarter that had a huge impact on the game.

With 1:48 left in the game, tied at 20, Drew Brees had the Saints on the Rams' 13-yard line, looking to score. Brees threw a short pass to the sidelines to wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, when Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman came flying in, knocking Lewis off his feet in mid-air, as the ball went out of bounds.

It looked like pass interference, which would have set the Saints up with 1st-and-goal, but the referees did not throw a flag.

Here was the play:

Basically the entire NFL world was outraged by the non-call:

Both Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, calling the game for Fox, said they thought there should have been a flag on the play.

The Saints settled for a field goal to make it 23-20. The Rams then drove to get into field goal range and kicked a field goal to tie it.

In overtime, Drew Brees threw an interception on the opening drive, and the Rams again went down the field to kick the game-winning field goal.

Through the Rams' final drive of regulation, Saints head coach Sean Payton followed the referees, yelling at them for not making the call.

Of course, plenty of other decisions had impacts on the game. Before the missed call, the Saints had thrown two incompletions, leading to some criticism of Payton's clock management to end the game. Brees' pick, which came as he was hit, also all but sealed the game for the Rams.

However, with the Super Bowl on the line, the NFL now has another officiating controversy on its hands.

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Scott is a senior sports reporter for Business Insider, covering all sports with a specific focus on the NBA and the constantly moving basketball world. Since joining Business Insider in 2014, he has reported on NBA trade demands, free agency rumors and news, breakout players you should know, behind-the-scenes business stories, and more. He once briefly led JJ Redick in a game of H-O-R-S-E.Send Scott tips, pitches, complaints, and more at sdavis@jkmperu.com and follow him on Twitter: @WScottDavis.