A conference championship game between the two best teams in the NFC was overshadowed by the officials' inexplicable decision to keep their flags Justin Dunn Jersey in their pockets.On Sunday, the and battled for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and for 58 minutes, the game lived up to the hype and promise ... right up until the moment the officials became the story of the game by mi sing one of the most blatant pa s-interference penalties you'll ever see. To make matters worse, the mi sed call came with the score knotted up at 20-20 and the Saints threatening to put away the Rams for good. If the correct call had been made, there's a very good chance the Saints would be en route to the Super Bowl and the Rams would be heading home to Los Angeles. Instead, the Rams managed to win 26-23 to advance to Super Bowl LIII, which on CBSSports.com.With 1:48 remaining in the game, the Saints faced a third-and-10 from the Rams' 13-yard line. dropped back to pa s, spotted running down the right sideline, and led Lewis toward the end zone. But Lewis never got the chance to make the catch, which would've given the Saints a chance to put the game away in regulation. He didn't get the chance because tackled him before the ball arrived.And yet, Jay Bruce Jersey the officials did not flag the Rams for pa s interference.No flag on this play... CBS Sports (@CBSSports) THE BALL ISN'T EVEN IN THE FRAME YET The Ringer (@ringer) Yeah. That was pa s interference. Brad Galli (@BradGalli) Former NFL official and current CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore confirmed what all of us already knew: It should've been a penalty. As mentioned in the broadcast, this should have been a penalty for Pa s Interference. The defender was not playing the ball and contacted the receiver early. Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) If the flag had been thrown, the Saints would've been granted a fresh set of downs near the goal line. They either could've scored a touchdown to take a seven-point lead or they could've ran more clock Edwin Encarnacion Jersey and forced the Rams to burn their remaining timeouts. Instead, due to the no-call, the Saints had to settle for a field goal with 1:45 remaining. Sure enough, the Rams took advantage of an extra opportunity they probably didn't deserve. With plenty of time to journey into field-goal range, they kicked a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. In overtime, the Rams picked off Brees on the opening po se sion of the extra period. proceeded to drill a 57-yard field goal to send the Rams to the Super Bowl with a 26-23 win. Give the Rams credit for battling back after falling into a 13-0 hole in the first quarter. Give credit for getting the Rams into field-goal range to tie the game. Give Zuerlein credit for making two long field goals in two high-pre sure situations.But all of it was only po sible because of a blatant no-call. Immediately after the game, Art Warren Jersey Sean Payton spoke to the league office about the mi sed call. Sean Payton: Just getting off the phone with the league office. They blew the call. Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) And Robey-Coleman admitted that he initiated contact too early. Robey Coleman: Yes, I got there too early. I was beat, and I was trying to save the touchdown. Jay Buhner Jersey Robert Klemko (@RobertKlemko) It's a blatant no-call, we should add, that came via an officiating crew that includes referee Bill Vinovich. Before the game, , claiming that Vinovich has been biased against the Rams in games past. On Sunday, the Rams (seven penalties for 64 yards) were penalized more frequently than the Saints (three penalties for 20 yards), but they received the biggest boost from the officials in the waning moments of regulation. Meanwhile, the Saints' season has, once again, ended in absolute heartbreak. , they fell victim to one of the worst mi sed calls in NFL history.