SAN FRANCISCO -- Jerry Rice tied Drew Pearson's NFL record by catching a pass in his 22nd playoff game. But what happened afterward will long be discussed and debated.
Rice fumbled, the Packers insisted. Game over. Green Bay wins. Super Bowl hopes still alive.No fumble, the officials said. San Francisco's ball. Third-and-4 at the Green Bay 41 and 27 seconds left.
Four plays later, Steve Young hit Terrell Owens between three defenders for the winning 25-yard touchdown with three seconds left as the 49ers edged the Packers 30-27 in a thrilling NFC wild-card game.
"That was clearly a fumble," Packers general manager Ron Wolf fumed in the hushed locker room. "We clearly recovered. The game's over.
"It's tough to lose no matter how you do it. But when you make a play in a championship game and it's not awarded to you, there's something wrong with the whole system. It's something that has to be addressed," Wolf said.
The NFL had wanted to bring back instant replay for the playoffs after a series of embarrassingly bad calls in November and December decided three games, but it was Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren who rose up against the idea. Now he's living to regret it.
It very well could have salvaged the Packers' season Sunday.
Millions of fans across the country got to see Rice in slow motion as he fumbled on San Francisco's game-winning touchdown drive.
But the officials, who ruled no fumble, didn't get to see it again.
With time running out, Rice caught his first pass of the game, a 6-yard reception on second-and-10 from the Green Bay 47 with about 40 seconds remaining.
Rice hadn't been heard from to that point, stifled by a suddenly stout secondary.
But Packers linebacker Bernardo Harris hit him and rookie nickel back Scott McGarrahan stripped the ball from Rice and Harris pounced on it.
TV replays showed the ball coming out before Rice's knees hit the ground.
The Packers began celebrating their fourth straight playoff victory over the 49ers and a trip to face the Atlanta Falcons in the second-round next weekend.
But line judge Jeff Bergman said Rice was down, and although field judge Kevin Mack had a better view, he didn't overrule his colleague.
The Packers said they were robbed by a bad call at the worst time.
"Absolutely," strong safety LeRoy Butler declared. "But he's Jerry Rice, and I can't comment on the referees or I'll get fined."
Holmgren was asked if he thought Rice got star treatment on the play.
"I would hope not," he sighed. "Jerry has certainly earned his respect in this business, but I think when they call a game, they shouldn't look at the numbers, and I don't think they did."
Still, Holmgren thought the call was incorrect.
Holmgren's assistants "told me from upstairs that it was a fumble," the coach said.
Quarterback Brett Favre, whose 15-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Freeman with 1:56 left put the Packers ahead 27-23, said he felt like his season was stolen from him.
"I've said all along instant replay should be a part of this game," Favre said. "I know that the referees are human and they make mistakes like we do. But if that was a fumble on that last drive, I'd hate to think we lost the ball game on a play like that."
Wolf said instant replay is an absolute necessity to restore respect to the league that has gotten a black eye from bad calls.