Sport Science Breaks Down Controversial Patriots/Panthers Call

Could Rob Gronkowski have caught that ball? Sport Science disagrees with the referees. And how did the outcome affect the New Orleans Saints?

John Brenkus breaks down the controversial "non-call" at the end of the Patriots-Panthers game, and you might be surprised what the science says.

So, how did the call affect the New Orleans Saints. Easy, the Saints needed Carolina to lose in order to increase the Saints lead in the NFC South over the Panthers.  The "non-call" preserved a Panthers victory.

At the end of the Saints-Patriots game, Tom Brady completed a touchdown pass on the last play of the game to beat the Saints. At the end of the Panthers-Patriots game, the referree threw the flag on what looked like pass interference in the end zone.  Had the ref called the penalty instead of picking up the flag... the Patriots would have had one untimed down from the one yard line and a chance to win the game.

A Patriots win would have cushioned the Saints lead in the NFC South.  It's science.

The Saints play the Falcons tonight on 1130 the Tiger.