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At the end of the Steelers - Chargers game yesterday, San Diego tried the multiple lateral play that as far as I know has only worked twice (Stanford-Cal and the Music City Miracle) over the years. Pittsburgh recovered and Troy Polamalu went in for a touchdown.
Blown call loses it for Steelers bettors
Can you imagine the uproar if this happened in an NBA game rather than in an NFL game? And given how many Steeler fans are still convinced their losses to the Pats in the AFCCG were due to video taping and not poor special teams play or Roethlisberger's interceptions, I can't even imagine what they're saying about how the NFL is out to get them right now.
Blown call loses it for Steelers bettors
But now it gets a little more interesting for conspiracy theorists. First, there is the fact that the Steelers were flagged 13 times in the game while the Chargers were flagged only twice (one being that final play.) But then there is the news on the money being wagered on this game.Time had expired, and it appeared the Steelers were going to win 18-10 (assuming they converted the PAT). That would have meant the Steelers covered the spread, which was 4½ or 5 points. (The heaviest betting action was on the Steelers to cover as the line went up all week.)
The replay assistant called for a review, however, and based on the fact that Tomlinson had made a forward pass, the play was ruled dead at the point Tomlinson threw it.
But the only way the play should have been ruled dead at that point was if Tomlinson's pass had hit the ground. It did not.
“There was some confusion on which illegal forward pass we were discussing, and it was decided the illegal forward pass hit the ground and that would have killed the play,” referee Scott Green said. “The first pass was the one that was illegal, but it only kills the play if it hits the ground. That was incorrect to have killed that at that point. The ruling should have let the play go on.”
Pregame.com, a site that provides information to sports bettors, estimated that $100 million was wagered worldwide on the game. Approximately 66 percent of that money was on the Steelers, according to the site.
“If the touchdown was properly upheld, Steelers bettors would have won about $32 million instead of losing big,” Pregame.com President R.J. Bell said. “This admittedly incorrect call resulted in a $64 million swing in favor of the bookies.”
Can you imagine the uproar if this happened in an NBA game rather than in an NFL game? And given how many Steeler fans are still convinced their losses to the Pats in the AFCCG were due to video taping and not poor special teams play or Roethlisberger's interceptions, I can't even imagine what they're saying about how the NFL is out to get them right now.