Wayne Elliott admits to an NFL referee mistake being made on Monday Night Football between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
Replacement NFL ref Wayne Elliot says the Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay and Seattle may have been the straw that broke the camels back, which led to the NFL and real officials coming together on a deal two days later.
This past Thursday night Elliot appeared on “Inside the NFL” on Showtime and said that his phone did not stop ringing for 3 days after the controversial call at the end of the game that granted a win to the Seahawks after it appeared Green Bay had intercepted a hail mary pass in the end zone on the last play of the game, but was ruled a touchdown for the Seahawks.
Wayne Elliot told hosts James Brown and Chris Collinsworth that he, “screwed it up.”
During the play two officials made different rulings on the play while a Seahawk receiver and Packer defensive back wrestled for control of the ball on the ground. One calling a touchdown the other calling an interception.
Elliot then reviewed the replay, which he says that Monday Night Football announcer Mike Tirrico’s comments made him think there was a simultaneous possession which would mean touchdown, even though clearly, the footage shows the Green Bay player has control of the ball first.
“When I saw the replay for the first time with audio, I heard (ESPN’s) Mike Tirico saying — and he’s looking at it for the first time live — and he says, ‘Simultaneous,’ ” Elliott said. “He says that word in his description of the play. So I think it was right (at the time).”
Wayne Elliot though now admits that he would have made a different call if he had it to do all over again.
“I probably call interception,” Elliot said after host Collinsworth asks what call would he make now. “… I learned a rule by screwing up the rule. That’s the best way for me to learn them, by screwing them up.”