SUPER BOWL SET AFTER TW0 OT THRILLERS
Rams get away with blatant pass interference in fourth, prevail in OT
NEW ORLEANS — A big comeback. A blown call. And, finally, a booming kick that sent the Rams to the Super Bowl.
After rallying from an early 13-point deficit, the Rams stunned the Saints with Greg Zuerlein’s 57-yard field goal in overtime for a 26-23 victory Sunday in the NFC Championship Game — an outcome that might not have been possible without an egregious mistake by the officials in the closing minutes of regulation.
Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed a blatant interference penalty with a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tommylee Lewis well before the pass arrived inside the 5, forcing the Saints to settle for Wil Lutz’s 31-yard field goal that made it 23-20 with 1:41 left in regulation.
“Came to the sideline, looked at the football gods and was like, ‘Thank you,’ ” RobeyColeman said. “I got away with one tonight.”
After the non-call, Jared Goff had enough time to lead the Rams down the field for Zuerlein’s tying field goal, a 48-yarder with 15 seconds left.
New Orleans won the coin toss and got the ball first in overtime. But, with Dante Fowler Jr. in his face and striking his arm, Drew Brees fluttered up a pass that was picked off by John Johnson III, who was able to hang on to the interception while stumbling backward. Johnson hopped up and celebrated by doing the “Choppa Style” dance popularized by New Orleans rapper Choppa, whose namesake song had become a Saints rallying cry and was even performed during the halftime show.
The Rams weren’t able to do much offensively, but it didn’t matter. Zuerlein booted through the winning field goal from just inside midfield with plenty of room to spare. The NFL said it was the longest game-winning kick in playoff history.
“It’s unbelievable, man. I can’t put it into words,” said Goff, who at 24 became the youngest quarterback to win an NFC title. “The defense played the way they did to force it to overtime. The defense gets a pick, and Greg makes a 57-yarder to win it. That was good from about 70. Unbelievable.”
The Superdome, which had been in an uproar all afternoon, suddenly turned eerily silent. It was the first home playoff loss for the Saints with Brees and coach Sean Payton, who had been 6-0 in those games since their pairing began in 2006.
This one really hurt.
If the pass-interference penalty had been called, the Saints could’ve run most of the time off the clock to set up a winning field goal from chip-shot range.
“Being that it happened right there in front of the person who would be the one to make the call, and everyone in the stands saw it, everyone watching at home on TV saw it, that makes it even more difficult to take,” Brees said. “Because of this, I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about reviewing penalties, perhaps game-changing penalties.”
The Rams and their 32-year-old coach, Sean McVay, capped a remarkable rise since moving back to Los Angeles three years ago. The team will be appearing in its first Super Bowl since the 2001 season, when the “Greatest Show on Turf ” was still in St. Louis.
The team hasn’t won an NFL title in Los Angeles since 1951, well before the Super Bowl era. The team moved to St. Louis in 1995, only to return to Southern California two decades later.
“Shoot, I don’t even know what day it is,” McVay said. “All I know is we’re NFC champs, baby!”
It was another bitter end for the Saints, who lost the previous season in the divisional round on the “Minnesota Miracle” — the Vikings’ long touchdown pass on the final play of the game.
According to reports, the NFL intends to admit that the non-call was indeed an error.
“Not only was it interference, it was helmetto-helmet,” Payton said. “”I don’t know if there was ever a more obvious pass interference.”