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Green Bay -- After meeting until 2 a.m. Wednesday, the NFL and NFL Referees Association have made substantial progress. So much progress, ESPN reports, that the officials could return in time for Sunday's games.

According to the report, an agreement in principle is in place and the two sides are "very close" to finalizing.

Monday night's game may have been the breaking point. In Seattle, the Green Bay Packers lost a highly controversial game that triggered a national uproar with everyone from LeBron James to Barack Obama chiming in. In the report, the NFLRA says its 121 members are up to date on the new rules implemented this season and are ready to officiate immediately.

Both sides reportedly made concessions to get closer to a deal.

A 21-official "taxi squad" that commissioner Roger Goodell has wanted appears to be set. These officials would come from high-level college ranks and participate in offseason seminars. This group would not be part of the NFLRA's union and thus would not cost the officials financially at all. Through the negotiating process, Goodell was seeking the authority to demote officials or bench them completely.

Still, don't celebrate quite yet. NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith cautioned on Twitter that "Having done this before, everyone needs to wait until the ink is dry." And Sports Illustrated's Peter King also heard that NFLRA negotiator Scott Green has notified officials that a deal is not imminent.

If a deal is reached, this all would come about 48 hours too late for the Packers.

At Seattle, an incorrect call may have cost the Packers a game. On Seattle's Hail Mary attempt Monday night, safety M.D. Jennings appeared to pick off quarterback Russell Wilson -- a play that has been dissected postmortem more than any other in recent history. The morning after the 14-12 loss, the league stated that offensive pass interference should have been called, though the NFL also stood by the "simultaneous catch" ruling.

Left guard T.J. Lang has been the most vocal player in the NFL on this issue, saying Tuesday that more players need to speak up. Right guard Josh Sitton added that the league needed to apologize to the team.

“I think we’ve gotten to a point where if we don’t take a stand, nothing’s going to happen," Lang said. "We’d just be letting these refs ruin games. The NFL doesn’t give a crap. They’re still making money. People are still coming to the games. There needs to be more players who speak out to really put pressure on the NFL to try to get something done.”

The national backlash from Monday night's game was immense. Goodell's office was reportedly flooded with more than 70,000 voicemail messages after the game. Coach Mike McCarthy said he received more texts and emails following this game than he did after winning the Super Bowl.

Many people said it'd take a blown call to get the league's officials back. That may have just happened.