Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers
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(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
The NFL has admitted a mistake that could have changed the course of the season for Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers were able to steal the division from the Baltimore Ravens with a win in the season finale, giving them a playoff berth that once seemed unlikely. But another controversial play from the previous meeting between the teams could have altered the course of the race, the NFL revealed this week.
NFL’s Mistake Helped Steelers
Pro Football Talk reported on Tuesday that Troy Vincent, the league’s vice president of football operations, admitted that officials got the wrong call on a critical interception in the first meeting of the Steelers and Ravens. On the play, the Ravens tipped the ball at the line but it was snagged by Rodgers.
The ball was torn away by Ravens linebacker Teddye Buchanan and initially ruled an interception, but overturned on review when replay officials determined that Rodgers had possession and a knee down before Buchanan took it away.
The league no longer sees it that way, the report noted.
“Now that the league office has had time to carefully scrutinize the play, PFT is told that the Rodgers play should have been ruled the same way as the Bills’ interception in overtime of their playoff loss to the Broncos,” the report noted.
The Steelers did not score on the drive, but were able to pin the Ravens deep in their own territory and went on to narrowly win the game. That ultimately kept them in position for the Week 18 win, which sent them to the playoffs.
The new report has sparked some controversy, with several Ravens players taking to social media to call out the league for getting the call wrong — and ultimately leading to their playoff elimination.
“So technically we won?” quarterback Lamar Jackson shared in a post on X. “10-7 1st offseason win ever”
Aaron Rodgers Described Play
Rodgers said at the time that he was trying to channel New York Giants receiver David Tyree on his famous Super Bowl catch.
“I was trying to bat it down. I was trying to get my hand on top of it and push it down, and when I did, I felt whoever’s big paw was in there. So I kind of had to David Tyree for a second, and then it was kind of a battle for the football,” Rodgers said after the win over the Ravens, via SteelersNow. “I didn’t realize at the time my knees were down, I was just struggling with it, but he was grabbing on my left wrist, and there was some extracurricular [activity] at the bottom of the pile. And I was just pissed jogging off the field, so I’m glad that call went our way.”
The blown call ultimately didn’t do too much for Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl hopes, even if it did help them squeak into the playoffs. The Steelers went on to lose their playoff game, falling 30-6 to the Houston Texans as Rodgers and the offense struggled to move the ball.