Other questionable games in NFL history

[davefan66]

‘98 Bills V Patriots

 

”Just give it to them” game.

 

First down awarded on a failed 4th and 9 and then a PI on a Hail Mary.  

[KCNC]

On 1/30/2025 at 9:46 AM, major said:

Raiders have always seemed to get screwed over the history of the league. I’ve always wondered if if was due to Al Davis going to battle with the league multiple times

"Holy Roller" game went jn their favor

[stevestojan]

On 1/29/2025 at 10:01 PM, Special K said:

Knowing what we know now about Belichick with Spygate and all, I am sure while he was DC of the Giants he illegally taped the Bills practices for Super Bowl 25......no way he could slow down that powerful Offense without a little help.

He didn’t slow them down. Jim and Marv had such hubris that they refused to keep running, despite three down lineman on the other side of the ball and Thurman averaging over 9 yards a carry.
 

Ego and coaching lost us that game -  not a kicker who had been mediocre at best (69% on the SEASON)  being asked to do something he never had (47 yards on grass - 35 years before 60 yarders were commonplace). 
 

Bill didn’t need help. He begged us to keep running and Jim’s arrogance and Marv’s refusal to override his star QB was all he needed. 
 

(The thumbs down button is the second from the bottom for those that believe Marv and Jim should never be judged or questioned). 

[JPP]

I dont believe games are pre determined like wrestling but its plainly obvious that the league favors the favorites and in this day and age the organization that brings in the most money for uncle Roger and company...ie swifties etc....Its beyond obvious with pretty much every single KC game this season (not just the last game) 

[colin]

4 hours ago, stevestojan said:

He didn’t slow them down. Jim and Marv had such hubris that they refused to keep running, despite three down lineman on the other side of the ball and Thurman averaging over 9 yards a carry.
 

Ego and coaching lost us that game -  not a kicker who had been mediocre at best (69% on the SEASON)  being asked to do something he never had (47 yards on grass - 35 years before 60 yarders were commonplace). 
 

Bill didn’t need help. He begged us to keep running and Jim’s arrogance and Marv’s refusal to override his star QB was all he needed. 
 

(The thumbs down button is the second from the bottom for those that believe Marv and Jim should never be judged or questioned). 

 

Lol, do people still think Marv is gonna win us one in the end?

 

It was kinda the same thing with cook killing KC on runs last week, but the sb25 game was more insane because of how our d was also keeping them from scoring points And they a back up QB!  Like, can you think of a better time to push a dominant running attack?

[major]

5 minutes ago, colin said:

 

Lol, do people still think Marv is gonna win us one in the end?

 

It was kinda the same thing with cook killing KC on runs last week, but the sb25 game was more insane because of how our d was also keeping them from scoring points And they a back up QB!  Like, can you think of a better time to push a dominant running attack?

I still think Thurman should have won MVP of Super Bowl 25, even though we lost 

[Orlando Buffalo]

I know this is not NFL but this is actually worse than happened to us, which I think is impossible to achieve without it being intentional.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43661228/heerenveen-robin-van-persie-rails-unthinkable-referee-error

[major]

32 minutes ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

I know this is not NFL but this is actually worse than happened to us, which I think is impossible to achieve without it being intentional.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43661228/heerenveen-robin-van-persie-rails-unthinkable-referee-error

Ouch 

[JPP]

4 hours ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

I know this is not NFL but this is actually worse than happened to us, which I think is impossible to achieve without it being intentional.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43661228/heerenveen-robin-van-persie-rails-unthinkable-referee-error

This crap has been going on in soccer or futbol for long long time...its a cesspool of crap..Nothing new....Match fixing is rampant there and every year its multiple players caught-suspended or higher up!  Money makes the world go round!  Or makes some act very very stupid beyond belief!

[Billzgobowlin]

This league has been different since Goodell has been in charge.  Also Music City Miracle has to be the most vivid in my mind.  Dumbfounds me that they still try to defend that being the right call

[folz]

On 1/30/2025 at 2:17 PM, LABILLBACKER said:

I think the most egregious one was SB 40.  Head ref Leavy would later in his life admit he missed 2 critical calls that went in Pittsburgh's favor.  Human beings are a flawed species.  We make mistakes,  lots of them. But we're also smart enough to develop technology that can minimize or even completely eliminate bad calls, spot, etc.  What happened to our Bills was preventable.  

 

I realize there's a strong sentiment that if we had just played better, the officiating would be rendered irrelevant.  And to some degree that's true.  But our playoff games with KC are always close. One bad call can dictate the outcome.  We've suffered thru nearly 20 years of Tom Brady/ NE getting most of the 50/50 calls. Now that a new league "golden child" has been selected,  we must endure this all over again.  There used to be a time when I naively thought the NFL cared about parity & fairness.  Never again will I believe that.

 

Agree. I always thought the refs had it in for the Bills (especially against teams like New England, etc.). But the first time I actually questioned whether the NFL was actually steering games to get the outcome they wanted was Super Bowl XL (2005/2006 season). Jerome Bettis was playing in his last game (about to retire) in his hometown of Detroit. The NFL so wanted the storyline of The Bus riding off into the sunset in his hometown with the Lombardi trophy. Plus Pitt probably had a much bigger following than the Seahawks.

 

The refs literally took two TDs off the board for Seattle, both on horrible calls...and those were just the most egregious bad calls of many others. No doubt in my mind that Seattle wins that Super Bowl if not for the refs interfering.

 

I don't understand why they think they have to create storylines. It's similar to the Olympics now too. In the Olympics now, the tv coverage has all of these pre-packaged segments about certain (American-only) athletes that they want to promote or have sad storylines or whatever. They push certain storylines down our throats (and then that athlete comes in like 12th---and they barely even show us who actually won---because they're not American), rather than just letting the sports/events create the storylines naturally. And I'd bet that the stories that would come about organically would be just as compelling as any created storylines. I wish the NFL realized this. Let things play out how they are meant to and there will naturally be storylines to discuss, rather than trying to push so hard to make certain pre-planned stories to come about.

 

I think the NFL believes that having a dynasty team (like New England and now KC) is good for business. It breeds familiarity with the international crowd and now young female markets that they are trying to expand into. I think with NE, they thought having that dynasty built their business. Which I don't actually believe is true (or the main cause of growth in the league), so they wanted a new dynasty (KC). And they also knew that people will also tune in to watch "villains" in pro-wrestling too. I remember watching the Super Bowls of NE vs. NYG just hoping to see NE lose. I mean, we were all told that when free agency came about that that would spell the end of dynastic NFL teams. Yet, post-free agency, we have had the two biggest dynasties of all time. I mean, how does that happen? Are Brady/Belichick and Reid/Mahomes really just that much better than anyone else who has ever coached or played in the league that they could have dynasties during free-agency? Take away the help they get/got from the refs and how many fewer Super Bowls do they have? How about their overall record? Not only does in call the league into question, but it makes me question if any of these guys are actually even GOATs. Really good players and coaches, but would they be considered the GOATs if not for the refs/NFL help?

 

To me, the NFL has to go one way or the other. Either let us know that the NFL is like pro-wrestling with pre-planned storylines (entertainment only---the outcomes really don't matter) or bring integrity back to the game. But, somehow I don't think either of those things is going to happen. So, now I don't worry as much about winning a Super Bowl (if the NFL office decides, not the players on the field, then why get disappointed...it is a pre-determined outcome that we can't do anything about), so I just enjoy watching and rooting for the Bills and taking joy in the season and individual games and accomplishments rather than pinning everything on a Super Bowl win. Ironically, our best chance of winning a Super Bowl may be these next two years (as we move into our new stadium). The NFL really likes new stadiums. Sad that's how it is, but not sure I can be convinced otherwise at this point.

[ToGoGo]

15 minutes ago, folz said:

 

Agree. I always thought the refs had it in for the Bills (especially against teams like New England, etc.). But the first time I actually questioned whether the NFL was actually steering games to get the outcome they wanted was Super Bowl XL (2005/2006 season). Jerome Bettis was playing in his last game (about to retire) in his hometown of Detroit. The NFL so wanted the storyline of The Bus riding off into the sunset in his hometown with the Lombardi trophy. Plus Pitt probably had a much bigger following than the Seahawks.

 

The refs literally took two TDs off the board for Seattle, both on horrible calls...and those were just the most egregious bad calls of many others. No doubt in my mind that Seattle wins that Super Bowl if not for the refs interfering.

 

I don't understand why they think they have to create storylines. It's similar to the Olympics now too. In the Olympics now, the tv coverage has all of these pre-packaged segments about certain (American-only) athletes that they want to promote or have sad storylines or whatever. They push certain storylines down our throats (and then that athlete comes in like 12th---and they barely even show us who actually won---because they're not American), rather than just letting the sports/events create the storylines naturally. And I'd bet that the stories that would come about organically would be just as compelling as any created storylines. I wish the NFL realized this. Let things play out how they are meant to and there will naturally be storylines to discuss, rather than trying to push so hard to make certain pre-planned stories to come about.

 

I think the NFL believes that having a dynasty team (like New England and now KC) is good for business. It breeds familiarity with the international crowd and now young female markets that they are trying to expand into. I think with NE, they thought having that dynasty built their business. Which I don't actually believe is true (or the main cause of growth in the league), so they wanted a new dynasty (KC). And they also knew that people will also tune in to watch "villains" in pro-wrestling too. I remember watching the Super Bowls of NE vs. NYG just hoping to see NE lose. I mean, we were all told that when free agency came about that that would spell the end of dynastic NFL teams. Yet, post-free agency, we have had the two biggest dynasties of all time. I mean, how does that happen? Are Brady/Belichick and Reid/Mahomes really just that much better than anyone else who has ever coached or played in the league that they could have dynasties during free-agency? Take away the help they get/got from the refs and how many fewer Super Bowls do they have? How about their overall record? Not only does in call the league into question, but it makes me question if any of these guys are actually even GOATs. Really good players and coaches, but would they be considered the GOATs if not for the refs/NFL help?

 

To me, the NFL has to go one way or the other. Either let us know that the NFL is like pro-wrestling with pre-planned storylines (entertainment only---the outcomes really don't matter) or bring integrity back to the game. But, somehow I don't think either of those things is going to happen. So, now I don't worry as much about winning a Super Bowl (if the NFL office decides, not the players on the field, then why get disappointed...it is a pre-determined outcome that we can't do anything about), so I just enjoy watching and rooting for the Bills and taking joy in the season and individual games and accomplishments rather than pinning everything on a Super Bowl win. Ironically, our best chance of winning a Super Bowl may be these next two years (as we move into our new stadium). The NFL really likes new stadiums. Sad that's how it is, but not sure I can be convinced otherwise at this point.

I think it’s a mix of having more control and having “higher goals”. 
 

For example, having the narrative of their choice every year avoids a dreaded NFL situation where we have a boring Vikings/Darnold vs Texans/Stroud Super Bowl that would get lower ratings. Look at the NBA, they just forced a Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers so we’re not stuck with another weak Western Conference Mavs team vs a boring 3 point shooting Celtics team or God forbid the Cavs with no household names. 

It raises the floor for ratings. 
 

The other concept leads to bigger ideas. Have you been listening to Goodell this year? All he talks about is 18 games and expanding outside the USA. Nobody wants this, but it’s all he talks about. Refs get brought up and he mentions how great they’re doing. Completely tone deaf. Player safety? Ha! 
 

Well what does Taylor Swift really bring? Young female attention. Go on espn.com and count how many Women Sports articles there are on the homepage vs Men’s. Far more than there is actual interest. 
 

What they’re doing is building a new and massive market. Men are maxed out. If you don’t like sports as a man, you never will. But women are an untapped market. Start young, get them playing sports, get them playing flag football, get them dreaming about sports. Look at the “Roll Tide” commercials where the women is the knowledgeable fan dressed in baggy clothes with undone hair, correcting the man on sports knowledge. Runs perfect with feminist ideas. “Why can’t a women play sports? Why wouldn’t men watch women play sports? Why can’t a girl break gender norms and dream of being an athlete?” NFL headquarters loves that line of thinking. Let’s capitalize on it! 
 

They are “priming” the market, as advertisers are taught to do. So it’s beyond TV ratings in 2025 and about merchandise and TV ratings in 2030 and beyond. That’s why Kelce and Swift. That’s why she just has to come on the field for photo ops when they win. Does Haile Stanfield and Allen do that nonsense?  No, because that’s a real relationship that respects privacy and isn’t tacky. Swift and Kelce is perfect corporate synergy. Who hugs their boyfriend’s mother as much as she does? Give me a break.