Today is Day 1 of the NFL Playoffs. Detroit Lions fans can take comfort in knowing the NFL screwed you again.
I am not a “blame the officials” guy. Champions overcome bad calls, end of story. But, when the bad calls are taking place in a game you’re not playing, there isn’t much you can do beside say “Thank you sir, may I have another”. That is what is happening right now in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
According to Adam Schefter, “Multiple sources told ESPN that the Rams were upset by the officiating. The Lions were bothered by it and the competition committee was frustrated by it. The calls benefited the Seahawks, hurt the Rams and ultimately impacted the Lions, who needed Seattle to lose in order to have a chance to claim the NFC’s final wild-card spot.”
Schefter goes on to write, “The Lions should be livid,” one source told ESPN. “It was an awful way for them to end their season”. A league official told ESPN, that the official who threw the flag did not have an angle that allowed him to see Williams being blocked into Dickson.”
NFL officiating is under scrutiny after controversial calls from the playoff-shaping Seahawks-Rams game:https://t.co/YagmJBvlV6
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 14, 2023
I’m sure Roger Goodell will send a nice letter apologizing to the Detroit Lions. Which means about as much as the last time the Lions got screwed.
Like I said, I don’t like to blame officials. However, when you have no control over the outcome it stings a lot worse.
Photo: © Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK