SO NFL, WHAT IS THE CATCH?
Ridiculous rule allows Pats to Steel one from Ben & Pitt
TOM BRADY and the Patriots can thank the NFL’s impossible to understand catch rule for their now clear path to home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
The Steelers had a win stolen away Sunday when Ben Roethlisberger connected with tight end Jesse James for what appeared to be a victory-sealing 10-yard touchdown with 28 seconds left. But the call was overturned on review, with referee Tony Corrente saying the ball did not “survive” the completion of the catch.
“He lost complete control of the football,” Corrente added.
James was baffled by the call after the game.
“I guess I don’t know a lot of things about football,” he said.
In the end, it was the Steelers who did not survive, as Roethlisberger went on to make a poor decision by trying to force an end zone pass that was picked off, securing a 27-24 win for the hated Patriots.
Players current and former were equally nonplussed by the reversed touchdown.
“Man that’s some bull s--t that was a catch man. I don’t give a damn what anyone says,” said Ryan Shazier, the Pittsburgh linebacker who was brutally injured a few weeks ago but made a surprise appearance at the game Sunday.
“Somebody please tell me how that wasn’t a catch. Wow NFL has got to get the catch rule figured out. Looked good to me,” former NFL receiver Brandon Stokley wrote on Twitter.
“NFL you’re drunk, go home. That’s a catch in every aspect of being a catch,” former Chargers and Broncos receiver Jacob Hester said.
Roethlisberger hurried to the line on that final play. Rather than spike it to set up a short kick that would have sent the game to overtime, Roethlisberger tried to win it.
Instead, he blew it. His pass to Eli
Rogers was batted into the air, and New England safety Duron Harmon came down with it. One kneel-down later the Patriots got to celebrate the win, albeit another one that will go down with an asterisk.
DALLAS’ MARGIN PAPER THIN
Dallas kept its playoff hopes alive by the slimmest of margins after Dak Prescott converted a fourth-down sneak by the width of an index card to set up Dan Bailey’s go-ahead 19-yard field goal, and Derek Carr fumbled the ball inches from the goal line with 31 seconds left to give the visiting Cowboys a 20-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
The first key play came when Cowboys coach Jason Garrett decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 39 with about five minutes left in a tie game. Prescott ran into a pile that took officials time to untangle. Referee Gene Steratore then called for the chains to come out, but even that wasn’t enough.
He then tried to slide what appeared to be an index card between the tip of the ball and the end of the chain. When the card didn’t slide through, Steratore gave Dallas (8-6) a first down.
Prescott then hit Dez Bryant with a 40-yard pass that set up Bailey’s short kick with 1:44 to play that gave the Cowboys the lead. But the Raiders (6-8) got a gift when Jourdan Lewis committed a 43-yard pass interference penalty on a fourth-and-10 from their own 30. Carr then scrambled on third-and-3 from the 8 and reached out for the end zone. But the ball came loose before crossing the goal line and went out of the end zone for a touchback
MR. RODGERS’ DUD
The miracle return for Aaron Rodgers was not to be.
In his first game back from a broken collarbone suffered on Oct. 15, the prolific Packers quarterback delivered a dud, getting intercepted three times while throwing for 290 yards and three touchdowns.
The 31-24 loss to the Panthers was a serious blow to the Packers’ slim playoff hopes.
“I’m disappointed in my performance today,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, I didn’t play well.”
JAGS TO RICHES
Blake Bortles threw three touchdowns passes, including two to seldom-used backup Jaydon Mickens, and the Jaguars clinched a playoff spot with a 45-7 drubbing of AFC South rival Houston. Jacksonville’s seventh victory in its last eight games locked up the franchise’s first postseason berth since 2007.
VIKINGS OF THE NORTH
The Minnesota Vikings and their loud crowd overwhelmed the Cincinnati Bengals from start to finish, when they put on NFC North champions hats to celebrate the first major milestone of this season with the hope of several more to come.
From coaches to players to fans, everyone in purple was able to enjoy a postseason tuneup.
Eric Kendricks had an interception return for a touchdown, Case Keenum passed for 236 yards and two scores, and the Vikings clinched the division title with a 34-7 victory over the depleted and disinterested Bengals.
SHADY’S 10,000
LeSean McCoy scored twice and surpassed 10,000 career-yards rushing, while helping the Buffalo Bills stay in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt with a 24-16 win over the Miami Dolphins. Tyrod Taylor also scored on a 9-yard touchdown run and Shareece Wright and Jordan Poyer intercepted Miami’s Jay Cutler on consecutive drives to start the second half in a game Buffalo never trailed.
IN TODD THEY TRUST
Todd Gurley rushed for 152 yards and scored four total touchdowns in just 2 1/2 quarters, and the Los Angeles Rams moved to the cusp of their first division title since 2003 with a 42-7 thumping of the Seattle Seahawks. The matchup to determine first place in the NFC West was completely one-sided.