ATLANTA — Ten days after a controversial noncall marred the ending of the N.F.C. championship game, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell finally addressed it publicly, acknowledging that the officials erred.
“It is a play that should be called,” he said at his annual state of the league address on Wednesday. “Whenever officiating is part of any kind of discussion postgame, it is never a good outcome for us. We know that, our clubs know that, our officials know that.”
Late in the fourth quarter in a tied N.F.C. championship game, with New Orleans deep in Los Angeles territory, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis before he could attempt to catch a pass. Robey-Coleman could have been called for pass interference or helmet-to-helmet contact but was called for neither.
The Saints went on to kick a field goal but left enough time on the clock for the Rams to tie the game and send it into overtime, where Los Angeles won.
The league had refused to comment publicly on the play, but Saints Coach Sean Payton said shortly after the game that Al Riveron, the N.F.L.’s director of officiating, told him officials got the call wrong, and Robey-Coleman was later fined for a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Payton spoke to reporters on Wednesday and said his conversation with Riveron was “brutally honest.”
“We understand the frustration of the fans,” Goodell said before detailing extensive contacts the league had with the Saints, including their owner, Gayle Benson.
“Coach Payton spoke to Al Riveron, our head of officiating, immediately after the game,” Goodell said. “Al told him that is a play we want to have called. I have spoken to him. Troy Vincent, the head of football ops, has spoken to him. I have spoken to Mrs. Benson. The coach has also talked to the head of the competition committee, Rich McKay.”
Asked if he considered ordering the game be replayed from the point of the missed call, Goodell said, “Absolutely not,” and noted that the league rule book states games should not be overturned because of routine officiating errors.
Goodell said the league’s competition committee will consider possible changes to instant replay to address such calls, but he added that in the past there has been little appetite for replay officials to be able to call penalties on plays where no flag was thrown. He also said he did not think adding an eighth official was a good solution.
“I don’t think adding an official is an answer to all of the issues, and particularly this issue,” Goodell said.
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