How to watch Monday Night Football Classics: The Packers-Seahawks Fail Mary game – Green Bay Packers Blog

The vitriol from the Green Bay Packers’ locker room was everywhere in the moments after a 14-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks that featured one of the most confusing and chaotic endings to a game any of the players on the losing side had ever — and probably would ever — experience.

Most of the time, that’s all contained behind closed doors during the NFL’s mandated cooling-off period. But 10 minutes before the media were allowed in wasn’t close to enough.

Welcome to the scene of the losing end of the Fail Mary game. Dateline, Seattle (Sept. 24, 2012). ESPN will revisit that night on Monday with the re-airing of a Monday Night Football classic (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

When the doors opened, Packers players were huddled around small TVs in each corner of the locker room and became even angrier as they saw how the game ended. In one corner were the offensive linemen, where Packers center Jeff Saturday was so mad that a steady stream of obscenities spewed from his mouth before he finally walked away in disgust, throwing his towel at the TV.

Others took to social media.

In a series of Twitter posts, outspoken guard T.J. Lang said, among other things:

“F— it NFL.. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.”

“Any player/coach in Seattle that really thinks they won that game has zero integrity as a man and should be embarrassed.”

And with that, the phrase “simultaneous possession” was added to the Packers’ lexicon.

Monday’s re-airing might feel just as painful as it did at the time for Packers fans. Viewers can once again decide for themselves whether Russell Wilson’s Hail Mary pass should have been ruled a touchdown for Seahawks receiver Golden Tate — as called by the game officials (replacements because of a labor dispute) — or an interception by Packers safety M.D. Jennings.

Said quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the aftermath of the Packers’ loss: “First of all, I’ve got to do something that the NFL is not going to do, and I have to apologize to the fans. Our sport is generated, a multibillion-dollar machine, by people who pay good money to come watch us play. The product on the field is not being complemented by an appropriate set of officials. The games are getting out of control.”

That would be the last game with replacement officials; two days later, the league and the officials’ union came to an agreement on a new labor deal.

There was a moment of levity — albeit brief — in the final seconds. After replacement referee Lance Easley, who would become infamous because of this game, announced the ruling of a touchdown, he made the Packers return to the field to defend the extra point with no time left on the clock.

Many players refused, but the ones who went — just to get it over with — grabbed any helmet out of the equipment bin on their way back to the field. In that moment, the late running back Cedric Benson looked at a member of the Packers’ staff and deadpanned: “I’m gonna go block that f—ing kick.” He didn’t, and it wouldn’t have mattered if he did.