9. Wrong Coin Flip
This Thanksgiving game could go down as one of the most foolish referee errors in NFL history. And it didn’t even come on a call involving a penalty. When the Detroit Lions played the Pittsburgh Steelers in a holiday game that year, the action went to overtime. That extra period begins with a coin toss, and Steelers running back Jerome Bettis was tasked with making the call. He chose tails but the referee, Phil Luckett, somehow heard heads.
Detroit won the toss despite the wrong call. They eventually won the game because of a field goal. Then, the furious Steelers fans felt that the referees robbed them of the game. This was a mess and an embarrassing example of a referee error. The Lions didn’t win another game for the rest of the 1998 season. But they were gifted this one thanks to the referee and a coin toss.