It was a primetime Monday night matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, but the true opponent was the men wearing the stripes. For three agonizing weeks of the 2012 NFL season, fans and players had suffered under the chaos of the replacement referees amid a labor dispute. The entire country was waiting for a catastrophic breaking point. It arrived on the final, unbelievable play of September 24th.

In this episode of BenchMarks, Tom Albano dissects one of the most controversial and consequential plays in modern football history: The Fail Mary. We relive the final, desperate Hail Mary throw by rookie Russell Wilson into the end zone, contested fiercely by Seattle receiver Golden Tate and Packers safety M.D. Jennings. We examine the moment of bizarre confusion as two different officials—Side Judge Lance Easley and Back Judge Derrick Rhone-Dunn—gave two different signals: one for a game-winning touchdown, one for a touchback.

Albano dives into the specifics of the simultaneous catch rule, the blatant, uncalled offensive pass interference by Tate, and the fateful decision to uphold the ruling as a Seahawks victory that sent an entire nation into outrage. More than just a blown call, this is the story of how the sheer incompetence of the replacement officials forced the NFL's hand, bringing the league's labor dispute to an immediate, dramatic end less than 48 hours later.

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