Rams’ Todd Gurley Trolls the Saints After Controversial No Call in NFC Championship
The Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game to move on to Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta — but their thrilling overtime finish did not come without controversy.
With the score tied 20-20 with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Saints were on the verge of a potentially game-winning drive when referees missed a pass interference call after Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman moved too early and collided with New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis.
The play was ruled as an incomplete pass and the Saints were forced to go for a field goal instead of a touchdown, and Los Angeles was able to tie the game at 23-23 to extend it to overtime. The Rams would then deliver the knockout blow with a massive 57-yard field goal to seal the game with a final score of 26-23.
Saints coach Sean Payton immediately sent a complaint to the NFL about the non-call, and later told reporters that the league admitted the mistake.
Still can’t believe this... (via @rscheuermann)
A post shared by Bleacher Report (@bleacherreport) on Jan 21, 2019 at 6:51am PST
“I don’t know if there was ever more obvious pass interference,” Payton said after the game, according to USA Today. “It was simple. They blew the call.”
Rams fans would point out that the referees also missed calls on their behalf, such as a blatant face-mask against Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff.
Rams players weren’t complaining, even if they, too, knew the referees had missed it.
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“Ah, hell yeah, that was [pass interference],” a smiling Robey-Coleman said when he watched a video of the play after the game. “I did my part. Referee made the call. We respect it.”
A post shared by Todd Gurley (@tg4hunnid) on Jan 20, 2019 at 4:52pm PST
But Rams’ star running back Todd Gurley went the extra mile in celebrating the win, and trolled critics with a Photoshopped picture of himself exchanging jerseys with referee Bill Vinovich.
Gurley posted the picture with multiple skulls and laughing emojis to further pour salt on the Saints’ all too fresh wounds. The picture earned nearly a half-million likes as of Monday afternoon.
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Now the Rams will face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots — who visited Kansas City on Sunday and beat the Chiefs 37-31 in the AFC Championship — in Atlanta for Super Bowl 53, which will air Sunday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET. on CBS.
