Stephen A. Smith says the missed call is on the league office for not changing the rules. (2:02) Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman has been fined $26,739 by the NFL for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis that was not flagged during the NFC Championship Game, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday. League sources also told Schefter that Saints coach Sean Payton reached out to the league to see how it was going to publicly handle the controversial ending to regulation. Robey-Coleman appeared to run into Lewis, but was not flagged, before the ball arrived from Saints quarterback Drew Brees on third-and-10 at the Rams' 13-yard line with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining in a 20-20 game. Sources said Payton spoke to NFL head of officials Al Riveron, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and, eventually, commissioner Roger Goodell after calling all of them. Payton also texted with competition committee chairman Rich McKay, sources said. Robey-Coleman said that he is going to pay his fine and not appeal it. "I know I got fined today. I know everybody knows that. I'm gonna pay my fine," he said on Friday. "I know what happened. I'm gonna pay the fine. It was all good. And I'm moving on." The hit for which Robey-Coleman was fined happened on that same play in the final two minutes of regulation. A flag for pass interference would have given the Saints a first down, and New Orleans would have had a new set of downs and a chance to run time off the clock before attempting a short field goal with less than 20 seconds remaining. The Rams won 26-23 in overtime to advance to Super Bowl LIII, where they will face the New England Patriots on Feb. 3 in Atlanta. After the game, Robey-Coleman admitted he briefly thought the flag would come out but said that an official on the field told him he suspected the ball was tipped, which replays clearly showed was not the case. No penalty was called, although Payton said Riveron told him the officials "blew the call" by not penalizing Robey-Coleman. "It was simple. They blew the call. They said it should never have not been a call," Payton said after the game of the explanation he received. "They said not only was it interference, it was helmet-to-helmet. They just -- they couldn't believe it." News of the fine also drew a reaction from Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who had been fined during the regular season for his re-creation of a Joe Horn touchdown celebration. Man they fined me 30k for pulling out a phone tho 😂😂😂🤦🏾‍♂️💔 — Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 25, 2019 Cmon Roger do better 😂 — Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 25, 2019 The aftermath of the no-call has been significant, with players voicing their disbelief, lawsuits and petitions being filed, billboards posted in Atlanta, boycotts throughout the New Orleans area, and a letter from Louisiana's governor chastising Goodell. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday that the team had not heard anything from the league office since Sunday night. Loomis also deferred to Saints owner Gayle Benson's recent statement, in which she vowed to "aggressively pursue changes in NFL policies to ensure no team and fan base is ever put in a similar position again." Goodell also spoke to Benson, a source told Schefter. On Friday, Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was asked how Robey-Coleman was handling the situation surrounding the controversial no-call. "I think he's going to the Super Bowl," Phillips said. ESPN's Lindsey Thiry contributed to this report.<doc-sep>While the NFL has remained embarrassingly silent on a massive non-call late in Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints, in which officials turned a blind eye to both pass interference and a helmet-to-helmet hit on the same play, they’ve silently acknowledged at least one of those things happened. Nickell Robey-Coleman fined The NFL has fined Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, No. 23, for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis on Sunday. (AP) Via ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman was fined $26,739 by the league for his unflagged helmet-to-helmet hit on Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis. While several high-profile figures, including Saints veteran tight end and NFLPA executive committee member Benjamin Watson calling out the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell for their silence, the fine for Robey-Coleman is at least a tacit acknowledgement something wrong was done. Sen. Bill Cassidy speaks out on Rams-Saints ending Meanwhile, the public outcry apparently isn’t ending anytime soon. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) used at least some of his time on the Senate floor on Friday to decry the injustice done to the Saints. “What happened, in my belief and the belief of many, was the most blatant and consequential blown call in NFL history,” Cassidy said. “Football’s more than a game. It is part of our culture and I would say the NFL has a responsibility to the millions of fans across the country to ensure the integrity of the game and to answer these questions and perhaps a few others.” The game was five days ago at this point, but Cassidy seems to believe that was a good use of time with the government shut down and flights being delayed. More from Yahoo Sports: • 10-year-old wins science fair by proving Tom Brady is ‘a cheater’ • Warriors visit Obama after snubbing Trump • The gloves are off for Stephen A. and Raiders’ Carr • Ex-NFL star witnesses FBI raid on Roger Stone Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts<doc-sep>Taking action nearly a week after a controversial play in last weekend’s NFC Championship Game, the NFL on Friday fined Los Angeles Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman more than $26,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis. The fine was interpreted as an admission by the NFL that referees on the field at the Superdome in New Orleans should have called a penalty on the play in the tied game. Had they done so, New Orleans could have run down the clock and kicked a go-ahead field goal -- and clinch a trip to next week’s Super Bowl. Instead, the Saints kicked a field goal sooner, allowing Los Angeles to get the ball back, tie the game again with a field goal and then win in overtime, 26-23, with another field goal. The Rams will play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in Atlanta. SUPER BOWL 2019 TIME, DATE AND EVERYTHING ELSE TO KNOW ABOUT THE PATRIOTS-RAMS MATCHUP On Friday night, Robey-Coleman confirmed that he’d been fined by the league and said he intended to pay the fine with no objections, the Associated Press reported. “It's all good, and I'm moving on,” Robey-Coleman told the AP. “That's how the league feels. That's their call.” “It's all good, and I'm moving on. That's how the league feels. That's their call.” — Nickell Robey-Coleman, Los Angeles Rams defensive back The NFL Network reported that the precise amount of the fine was $26,739 – though how that figure was determined was unclear. According to the AP, Robey-Coleman wouldn't say whether he agreed with the league's decision to fine him, but he acknowledged after the game that he could have easily been penalized for pass interference. NFL BLACK MONDAY: EVERY COACH WHO WAS FIRED AFTER 2018 SEASON "It's the league's call, the ref's call," Robey-Coleman said. "I have nothing to do with that (decision). I made a football play. The ref made his call, and there's nothing else that I could do about it. That's their call, and that's something that you just have to live with as a football team, and we're going to the Super Bowl, so we just have to move on.” But whether the Saints – and their fans – are ready to move on is another matter. The no-call has sparked outrage in New Orleans, where there are calls for a Super Bowl boycott. In addition, at least two lawsuits have been filed over the NFL’s officiating. Some fans want the Saints-Rams game to be replayed, while others want full refunds for the amount they paid for tickets to the game. But the NFL opposes replaying the game, saying that doing so could cost the league "more than $100 million" because it could involve delaying the Super Bowl, according to an affidavit. NEW ORLEANS TICKETHOLDERS SUE NFL OVER CALL IN NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., suggested on Twitter this week that the NFL could help assuage New Orleans fans by allowing the city to host an upcoming Super Bowl. (The site of each year’s game is determined in advance, regardless of which teams participate.) “We all know the Saints were robbed of their chance to play in #SuperBowlLIII by the worst no-call ever,” Scalise wrote. “The NFL can make it right by awarding NOLA the next available Super Bowl. What’s more fair than awarding this year’s best team (& greatest host city!) with the next Super Bowl?” U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., took a different tack, suggesting that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell be invited to testify before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee regarding the league's handling of the play. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Rams, meanwhile, have been diplomatic about their fortunate break, acknowledging the sketchy nature of Robey-Coleman's hit while also gently pointing out that one play doesn't decide any game. "All we do as coaches, if a (penalty) is called, we usually get mad if it's against us," Los Angeles defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "If a (penalty) is not called, we thought they were holding Aaron Donald or something. But if they don't call it, you go to the next play. That's the way the game has been played for a long time.” The Associated Press contributed to this story.<doc-sep>
The NFL has still not made an official statement about the missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship Game, but it does appear they are aware that hit at least took place. On Friday, the NFL fined Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman $26,739 for a helmet to helmet hit against New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis near the end of regulation in the game on Sunday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. By levying the fine, the league office has acknowledged that the collision was illegal, but are still silent when it comes to admitting that there should have been a flag thrown on the play. The NFC Championship Game was tied, 20-20, with under two minutes remaining, and, had the foul been called, would have placed the Saints in a position to run out the remainder of the game clock, kick the winning field goal, and likely advance to Super Bowl LIII. But instead, the Saints were forced to kick the go ahead field goal earlier than they wanted, affording the Rams enough time to mount a counter offensive the other way, kick the game tying field goal, and force the overtime period. From there, Drew Brees was intercepted and Los Angeles moved into position to win the game on another kick. Since the moment officials declined to flag Robey-Coleman for the interference, there has been widespread and almost universally negative reaction from Saints fans, NFL players from other teams, and scores of analysts and observers in the media. After the game, head coach Sean Payton said that he spoke with a representative from the league, who admitted to him that the foul should have been called, but since the controversial play itself, the league has not released an official statement, itself arousing even more negative reaction. Since the end of Championship Sunday, at least one lawsuit has been filed against the NFL, asking for a rematch of the NFC Championship Game, and the controversy has been referenced in a letter from Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, another from New Orleans mayor Latoya Cantrell, has been referenced on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, and in a petition featuring over a half million signatures from fans. For his part, the player responsible for the hit admitted he got there early. “Yes, I got there too early,” Robey-Coleman said. “I was beat, and I was trying to save the touchdown.”