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Bills at Patriots, November 29, 1998 ending


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I was 14 and remember this game like yesterday. Just an unbelievable screw job. That spot on the Jefferson catch and than the PI call on Henry Jones make up the worst sequence of officiating I've ever seen. Even after the game, Ty Law was like, "A lot of the young guys are excited, but the vets know we kinda stole that one."

 

I don't know if it is something about being 14 or what, but I too remember this game vividly. I was so pissed off and it was the domino that began my deep hatred for the Patriots and everything that organization stood for.

 

As a naive kid I called NFL headquarters the day after and just bitched the man out who answered. I will give them credit in that at least in those days they listened although they denied the officials did anything wrong.

 

IR was instituted the following year, I believe.

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I'm just grateful we didn't have flat screen TVs back then. My first instinct was to throw my TV off the deck when that happened, but lucky for me it was too big and too heavy! That game had me angry for days. Even the NFL admitted that refs should not be in a position to decide games like that. I've been watching football for over 40s and that's still the ONLY time I've ever seen PI called on a hail Mary.......thanks for ruining my day with this topic. :)

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the jets game where they ran in back twice for touchdowns, one to open and close over time sucked, also


Pete Carroll chomping on gum makes me want to kill someone.

pete carrol makes me want to kill someone.

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This game, with its multiple bad calls all going in the same direction to end the game in favor of one team, combined with Andre hearing "just give it to them" was one of the first times it became pretty clear to me that refs could throw games.

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I know the call went against the Bills, but man how nice was it to watch games back then and know there was no review coming up...the call was the call.

 

I watched all 4 parts of the 1998 highlight reel that guy put together...half the freaking TD's the Bills scored looked like a knee was down first...but who cared...ref said it was a TD, it was a TD!!!!!

 

Hate freaking replay !

Edited by plenzmd1
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I was kneeling in front of the tv screaming "NOOOOOOOO" when that happened.

 

Something really weird, and I've looked at this 5 times. Later on the tape, at the 8:47 mark, Cincinnati is given a td on a play when I cannot see how it is even possible to give the guy a catch. Can somebody please explain how that was a catch?

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Watched it in the bar area in an Applebee's near Erie on my way back to college after winter break. Remember it like yesterday. Me and this other bills fan there were just dumbstruck.

 

I believe this game, along with a jets/Seahawks game that year, is what led to instant replay.

 

"Just give it to em" should have been long forgotten. Buffalo still did enough to win despite that, if that had not been followed with a pass interference call on a Hailmary. I always found that call to be way worse.

 

If I am not mistaken, at some point in that following week Tagliabue or another higher up made it clear to the refs that a pass interference on a play that like was to never be called again.

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Remember that game like it was yesterday. I was watching it with my dad & when Coats got Bledsoe's pass in the back corner the game winner I punched a hole in my parents wall. My mom was mad, my dad didn't seem to care. I was sick the rest of my season knowing that would be the game that cost us the division & forced us into the wild card game @ Miami. Looking back though it was fun following the Bills back then. The AFC East was pretty good with NE/Jets/Miami/Bills. Indy was starting to come on also. It was fun being relevant & having a real chance to win the division. Every AFC East game was like a war that year.

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This game still makes me so mad.


 

"Just give it to em" should have been long forgotten. Buffalo still did enough to win despite that, if that had not been followed with a pass interference call on a Hailmary. I always found that call to be way worse.

 

If I am not mistaken, at some point in that following week Tagliabue or another higher up made it clear to the refs that a pass interference on a play that like was to never be called again.

 

I believe the head of officiating sent out a memo to all officials that basically blasted that call. The weird thing is - the PI call was actually (technically) the correct call. Jones wasn't playing the ball at all, and just shoved the receiver as the ball was coming. I get why you wouldn't throw a flag in that situation, but it was worse than just the regular bumping and jostling that happens on most Hail Mary attempts.

 

The "first down" "catch" on the previous play was, to me, the worst call I'd ever seen. Looking back at it on grainy VHS, it's closer than I remembered. His feet *might* have been down for a split second when he catches the ball. I still think at least one of them had already come up, but it's hard to tell without freeze-frame or HD video. However, even if it was a catch, the problem remains that it was 4th down, and he was well short of the 1st down marker.

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I remember this game/ending. I said it back then and 19 years later my opinion hasn't changed, if that was PI then just about every desperation heave at the end of a game is PI. Not only was it on a hail mary, where receivers and defenders are usually making all kinds of contact with each other, but there was barely any contact at all between the defender and receiver on that play. Not sure what they were looking at. Dreadfully bad call. That was almost as bad of a call as the FailMary.

Edited by Talley56
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