Bettors potentially filing lawsuit over NFC Championship losses

Forget the online petition to replay the NFC Championship Game because Saints fans believe their team was robbed of a Super Bowl date in Atlanta.

This would be unprecedented: Gamblers filing a lawsuit against the NFL “as a result of people claiming losses from bad call in Rams-Saints game.”

Follow the logic: bet on game, lose bet because team loses, blame officiating, get refund. (Doesn't this happen every week?)

One outfit in New Jersey (where gambling became legal this year), is doing just that, refunding some Saints bettors.

This is all based on Saints’ ire over an apparent pass interference call late in the fourth quarter that wasn’t called on Rams cornerback Nickell Robery-Coleman in the NFC Championship Game.

The lead official says it was a judgement call. Robey-Coleman said, "The referee said the ball was tipped a little bit so it was a legal play."

Following the play, regulation ended in a tie. The Saints failed to score in overtime. The Rams kicked a 57-yard field goal to advance to the Super Bowl in Atlanta where they will face the New England Patriots Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Of no consolation to Saints fans is someone recreated the play using the Madden NFL video game ... and the game referees called a pass interference penalty.

The solution may lie with Commissioner Roger Goodell who according to Rule 17, Section 2, Article 3: "The Commissioner's powers under this Section 2 include . . . the reversal of a game's result or the rescheduling of a game, either from the beginning or from the point at which the extraordinary act occurred."

An attorney in New Orleans is trying to facilitate the decision, by reportedly filing a lawsuit on behalf of Saints season ticket holders asking for the end of the game to be replayed.

More on the suit: