NFL: 'Basic fairness' guided ref in OT coin toss

Clete Blakeman made his own decision before the start of overtime Saturday between the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers when he opted to attempt a second coin toss, the NFL said.

Blakeman, the referee in the divisional playoff game at University of Phoenix Stadium, chose to redo the toss before overtime when his initial attempt was called out by all four Packers' captains at midfield when it did not flip.

"There is nothing in the rulebook that specifies (a required flip)," NFL spokesman Michael Signora said in a statement. "But the referee used his judgment to determine that basic fairness dictated that the coin should flip for the toss to be valid. That is why he re-tossed the coin."

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers called tails. Blakeman tossed the coin but it did not flip, landing on heads, just as it was presented to the players.

Rodgers said when Blakeman picked up the coin to flip it again, he should have been offered a chance to call "heads."

"Clete had it on heads," Rodgers said of the initial toss. "He was showing heads, so I called tails, and it didn't flip. It just tossed up in the air and did not turn over at all. It landed in the ground. So we obviously thought that was not right. He picked the coin up and flipped it to tails, and then he flipped it without giving me a chance to make a recall there. It was confusing."

The Cardinals won the toss a second time, received the kick and marched 80 yards on two completions to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to seal the victory and advance to the NFC Championship game.