Packers signing Jerry Rice's son reminds us that Rice fumbled in 1999

On the fifth play of San Francisco's game-winning drive, accounting for 76 yards over nine plays, Rice hauled in his one and only catch of the game, a seemingly innocuous 6-yard connection that gave him a reception in 22 consecutive playoff games, tying Drew Pearson's NFL record. Rice broke that mark the next week in a loss to Atlanta – the same team the Packers would have faced if advancing.

Replays showed that the Hall of Fame wide receiver fumbled before he was down, and Bernardo Harris recovered for the Packers near midfield with about 35 seconds to go. It would have sealed the victory, but Rice was immediately ruled down.

In today's NFL, replay would have overturned the outcome, and the Packers would have won. But the NFL didn't adopt a full-fledged replay system until 1999, the regular season after Rice's fumble. The call on the field was what mattered here. Announcers John Madden and Pat Summerall even commented in real time that the play provided "another vote" for the league to adopt replay in the offseason.

"There's gonna be another vote for instant replay, and it's gonna win this year, I would say," Madden said. "Boy, the 49ers got a few more plays right there."

It's one of the bigger missed calls in NFL playoff history.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jerry Rice fumbled in 1999, and now the Packers have signed his son