21. Bottlegate (2001)
The Browns faced the Jaguars in a do-or-die game. They knew that defeat would end their slim hopes of making it into the postseason. But they were prepared to go down fighting. However, they didn’t count on the referees stealing away the game. Bottlegate is infamous because the officials made a wrong decision. They also successfully infuriated the entire Brown fanbase (via Toledo Blade).
Cleveland QB Tim Couch threw a pass to Quincy Morgan for a first down. Then, the Browns successfully snapped the ball and spiked it before the officials reviewed the play. There’s no denying that the catch was questionable but it was already too late to check it because of a new play. However, Terry McAuley and his team ignored this and checked it anyway. When they ruled out the touchdown, the crowd exploded and rained bottles down from above onto the field.
