posted by Zebra Man on Dec 16

A near-riot occurred on December 16th, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio when the Cleveland Browns were cheated by the referees in a game with playoff implications against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

In the final minute of play, Browns quarterback Tim Couch completes a pass to receiver Quincy Morgan for 3 yards on 4th-and-2. The NFL has repeatedly driven home the fact that a play is only reviewable up until the time that the next play is ran. Tim Couch gets his team lined up at the line of scrimmage and spikes the ball with 48 seconds remaining eliminating the possibility of a replay challenge.

The Browns are then told that the refs want to go back and review the previous play. This blatant disregard for the NFL’s own rules sparked a nasty scene among fans where Jacksonville players were quoted as saying that they ‘feared for their lives’.

Riot Erupts in Jags-Browns game

Play-by-Play Jaguars/Browns Week 15 2001