Green Bay - The National Football League and the Green Bay Packers couldn't be further apart in their interpretation of what transpired in the final seconds of an emotional football game Monday night in Seattle.

But by virtue of one controversial call that ultimately didn't go in either's favor, they are connected by a similar quandary:

Where do they go from here?

The NFL is nearing a crisis of confidence from its players, coaches and fans after the replacement officials with whom it has gone all-in this season drew widespread criticism for a call that went against the Packers in a 14-12 nationally televised loss to the Seahawks.

Outrage about the almost-interception heard 'round the world came from many corners of the sports world, including NBA superstar LeBron James, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Vince Lombardi biographer David Maraniss. Even President Barack Obama and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker weighed in on the matter, although in a predictably diplomatic manner.

The pressure to explain why a crew of undertrained officials - subbing for those the NFL has locked out in a labor dispute - ruled Seahawks receiver Golden Tate had caught a game-winning pass when most football experts agreed Packers safety M.D. Jennings intercepted it grew precipitously Tuesday.

So much so that the NFL had to release a statement admitting the officials missed a pass-interference call on Tate that would have ended the game on the spot with the Packers ahead. However, they said the officials were right in not allowing the play to be overturned by instant replay and defended the decision that both players had simultaneous possession of the ball.

"When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball," the statement said. "Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown."

Restarting negotiations?

Its defense of the on-field ruling did not stop Commissioner Roger Goodell from agreeing to restart suspended negotiations with the referees union Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. Many people were predicting a deal would be completed soon given all the adverse publicity the NFL is receiving, although by Tuesday night there was no word of an agreement.

In the meantime, many fans on Twitter were threatening to organize boycotts of games, some targeting the Thursday night games that are televised by the NFL-owned NFL Network.

Perhaps the worst condemnations the league received were accusations that the integrity of the game is being compromised by having undertrained and inexperienced officials. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was one who went there.

"The game is being tarnished by an NFL that obviously cares more about saving some money than having the integrity of the game diminished a little bit," Rodgers said on his weekly radio show Tuesday. "This is an NFL that gambled on some low-level referees, including the guy who makes the most important call last night, who has never had any professional experience."

Absent from the conversation was Packers President Mark Murphy, who as an active participant in labor negotiations with the players often spoke publicly about the league's stance during a long lockout in 2011. But with his team suffering a loss at the hands of the replacement officials, he stayed silent despite interview requests.

According to coach Mike McCarthy, Murphy was in contact with the NFL throughout the day, but unlike players such as Rodgers, T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton, he did not express his dissatisfaction with the game's outcome publicly. When asked about the NFL's statement, McCarthy said he hadn't read it, but "I'm sure I'm not in agreement with it."

Veteran ref's view

Among those asserting that the officials did not handle the play correctly was Jim Tunney, a 31-year veteran of NFL officiating who has worked three Super Bowls and has been referred to as the "Dean of NFL Referees."

Tunney said the two officials closest to the play - side judge Lance Easley and back judge Derrick Rhone-Dunn - failed to communicate properly before making their call. After Jennings hauled the ball into his chest and Tate tried to take it away, Easley raised his arms signaling a touchdown while Rhone-Dunn waved his arms only to stop the clock.

"When you do that, you look at each other and talk to each other," Tunney said. " 'I have this' or 'What do you have?' You confer. Unfortunately, that did not happen at all. It didn't look like there was any conference to me.

"There wasn't any communication, which is really standard operating procedure for officials. Talk to each other and get it right and even bring the referee in if you need to. But you have to find out who has the ball."

Rule 8, Section 3, Article 1 of the NFL rule book states that simultaneous possession occurs when both players have the ball from the start and not when one player has it and another grabs onto it. Tunney said it appeared to him that Jennings had possession first.

Players question safety

The NFL Players Association, which the NFL locked out for about five months in 2011, declined to criticize the officials for the ruling they made at the end of the game. Instead, it claimed the NFL was putting its players in danger of injury by playing with subpar officials, who at times have lost control of the game.

"It is the NFL's duty to provide a workplace that is as safe as possible. The League will want fans, the media and sponsors to talk only about 'the product' on the field. We are not product.

"While the focus today is about a blown call and the outcome of one football game, our focus as a family of players is and will remain squarely on workplace safety."

Packers look to Sunday

At the same time the NFL was dealing with fan discontent and growing player activism, the Packers were trying to get their heads straight after thinking they were going to leave Seattle 2-1 rather than 1-2.

The emotional toll of the turnaround at the end of the game is of great concern for McCarthy, who in a short week must prepare his team to play the Saints on Sunday. The Packers did not play particularly well against the Seahawks, and the Saints are off to an unexpected 0-3 start, so this game should be closely fought.

McCarthy has to spend the next four days both preparing his team and getting it to look past the loss to Seattle.

"We need to stay focused," McCarthy said. "We're not going to get any help. I know this is going to be a story that everybody wants to continue to talk about. And frankly, I'm not going to act like it's not there.

"The fact of the matter is, we're about New Orleans."

Neither McCarthy nor anyone else could predict how the Seattle loss would affect the Packers' hopes for a playoff bid or positioning within the playoff field. The Packers have now lost two NFC games, which not only gives them one more regular-season loss than they had all of last year, but it puts them behind in one of the criteria used to settle tiebreakers at the end of the season.

Losing that game could be the difference in whether the Packers make the playoffs. And that's something the players feel is too hard to achieve without fighting opponents and officials.

"We put a lot in this game," Rodgers said. "I think that is most of the frustration. We put so much into this. We put our bodies, our livelihood, on the line. You can't possibly tell me that, the ways things are going right now, player safety is being held to the same standard it was.

"And just the integrity of the game isn't what it was. We put a lot in this. We put our reputations in this. . . . Our families are invested in this. It's frustrating."