What is it with NFL officials and Seattle?
While the officials didn’t take the game away from the Lions, the Lions definitely got the short end of the stick when it came to the bad calls. The NFL reminds me of the book, "Animal Farm," all the animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. At this point, the Seahawks are more equal than the Lions. While the Lions didn’t get any help from the refs, they also hurt themselves with bad penalties. It’s like they were revisited by the Ghosts of Stupid Plays Past. A little more poise would help the Lions cause.
After all, you can’t lose 26-6 and blame everything on the refs. While the Lions might be out of the playoffs, at least they made it there for the first time in 14 years. Plus, Matthew Stafford is a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. Cheer up, Lions fans, thing are finally looking better in the Motor City.
Meanwhile, in Houston
Brock Osweiler didn’t look like a world beater, but he was solid as the Texans rolled the Oakland Raiders, 27-14. The Texans' defense may be solid enough to carry the team further than generally thought in the playoffs. Osweiler’s old team, the Broncos, have taken verbal shots at him all year, but he’s still playing.
The Raiders' return to the playoffs was hampered by losing their starting quarterback, Derrick Carr to a broken leg, and his backup, Matt McGloin to a concussion.
Still, it was nice to see the Raiders back in the playoffs.
Dolphins shown the gate, but Roethlisberger gets the boot
The final score was 30-12, but the game wasn’t quite as one sided as that indicates. The Dolphins were sabotaged by three ill-timed turnovers. Ben Roethlisberger was able to use running back, Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown to generate plenty of offense.
Bell set a franchise record for yards rushing in a playoff game, while Brown took in two touchdown passes. Late in the game Ben Roethlisberger was tackled on a passing attempt that resulted in an interception, and came down awkwardly. Roethlisberger was wearing a walking boot after the game, but indicated that he would be ready for the Steelers game against the Chiefs.
Giants receivers catch plenty of rays, but few passes
After catching some rays earlier in the week on a boating trip in Florida, Giants wide outs, Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz combined to catch seven passes for 58 yards in the Giants 38-13 loss to the Packers. While it might make for poor optics, they weren’t the primary reason the Giants lost. The Giants just got their butts kicked. And of course, there’s Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers ended up with four touchdown passes on the day. He’s the single-most dominant player in the NFL today.
