The NFL's last foray into replacement officials ended in embarrassment for the league when a botched call and comic confusion in a prime-time game led to the end of a lockout that marred the first three weeks of the 2012 season.
The play known as the Fail Mary proved to be the final straw that helped end that labor dispute, drawing such widespread criticism that even the two major presidential candidates weighed in on it. But it was far from the only instance of a blown call, a lack of understanding of rules and procedures, or question of impartiality.
“Would you let a Toyota dealership work on your brand new Rolls-Royce? That doesn’t work right, does it,” Dallas safety Gerald Sensabaugh said at the time. “Our brand is so big, it’s so important to a lot of people. There’s no way you can have guys that don’t have experience at that level.”