The Touchdown Stood. The NFL Acknowledged a Missed Penalty.

With eight seconds left in Seattle on September 24, 2012, Russell Wilson took the snap for one last attempt to erase Green Bay’s 12–7 lead. His pass reached a crowd in the end zone, where Seahawks receiver Golden Tate shoved Packers cornerback Sam Shields aside and fought with safety M.D. Jennings for the ball. The replacement officials ruled it a touchdown. After a lengthy replay review, the call stood, putting Seattle ahead 13–12.

The celebration and the argument began together. Seattle players celebrated while the Packers protested to the officials; both teams were eventually moved to the sidelines. Referee Wayne Elliott emerged from the review and announced, “the ruling on the field stands.” CenturyLink Field erupted. It took nearly 10 minutes to bring the teams back for the extra point that completed Seattle’s disputed 14–12 victory.

Green Bay had come close to keeping that last throw from happening. After Rodgers was sacked eight times in the first half, the Packers took the lead on Cedric Benson’s one-yard touchdown run with 8:44 remaining. They then stopped Seattle on fourth down at the Green Bay 7 with two minutes left. But Seattle forced a punt and regained the ball at the Green Bay 46 with 46 seconds remaining. A 22-yard completion to Sidney Rice helped put Wilson within range of the final heave.

Possession was the immediate dispute. The Associated Press account described Tate and Jennings wrestling for the ball and said it was never clear who had possession. Seattle coach Pete Carroll defended the decision: “From what I understood from the officials it was a simultaneous catch. Tie goes to the runner. Good call.” Rodgers saw something else. “It was awful. Just look at the replay. And then the fact that it was reviewed, it was awful,” he said, adding, “We shouldn’t have been in that position.”

In a statement after the game, the NFL acknowledged an error that should have settled the game before the question of possession mattered. Tate’s shove of Shields should have drawn an offensive pass-interference penalty, the league said, and that penalty would have ended the game. But the officials had not called it, and the missed penalty could not be reviewed through instant replay.

The league nevertheless supported leaving the touchdown ruling intact. Its statement said the officials had determined that Tate and Jennings both possessed the ball when they hit the ground. Under the simultaneous-catch rule, the ball belongs to the offense—but not if one player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. Possession was reviewable in the end zone, the NFL explained, and Elliott had found no indisputable visual evidence to overturn the call.

The officials were working while the NFL’s regular referees were locked out, and the ending followed a weekend of disputed decisions. Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy declined to discuss the officiating in detail: “I’ve never seen anything like that in all my years in football.” The league’s response left the Packers with an acknowledged missed penalty but no change to the score. As its statement put it: “The result of the game is final.”