It was a mostly uneventful first weekend of the NFL playoffs until Sunday’s final game was loaded with controversy.
You’ve seen the play by now. With just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens appeared to interfere with Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew’s attempt to catch a 3rd-and-1 pass.
The referees initially called pass interference, giving the Lions a first down deep in Cowboys’ territory. But then the crew made a stunning change. Even after announcing a first down for Detroit, the refs huddled, picked up the flag and changed the call without an explanation.
Even if they didn’t believe Hitchens did enough to warrant a flag, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant should’ve been penalized for running onto the field to protest the initial call without his helmet. That’s a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Lions are right to feel jobbed despite making plenty of other mistakes that ultimately cost them the game. It was a huge gaffe at the worst time and one that will leave Detroit fans angered for a long time.
Here’s what else we learned on Wild Card weekend:
Should Caldwell have gone for it? Considering what we know now, some may think of this as hindsight analysis. Sure, Lions coach Jim Caldwell could not have assumed his punter would shank it for 10 yards after the referee fiasco. But deep down, Lions fans have wonder whether Caldwell should have been more aggressive in that situation. Detroit needed just one yard at the Cowboys’ 46-yard line to pick up a first down and with an effective power back in Joique Bell at his disposal, Caldwell could have lined his team up to go for it. Instead, he preferred field position and that didn’t turn out to be the right decision. While Jason Garrett was aggressive with his calls throughout the game, Caldwell came up conservative.
Romo deserves a ton of credit: Because of a poorly built roster and a history of ill-timed mistakes, Tony Romo has been labeled as a big-game “choker”. It might be time to scrap that narrative. Despite facing a ferocious pass rush all day, Romo didn’t fold under the pressure. In fact, he was the definition of clutch. In his second career playoff win, Romo was masterful down the stretch, converting on a big fourth-down play and throwing the go-ahead score with an eight-yard touchdown to Terrance Williams with 2:32 to play in the fourth quarter. The game will ultimately be remembered for the flag that was wiped out, but Romo’s impressive showing shouldn’t be forgotten.
Deja vu for Bengals: Yes, we’ll acknowledge that Andy Dalton was in tough without two of his best pass catchers — A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham — in the lineup, but it was the same old story for the Bengals. With an underwhelming performance from Dalton, the Bengals lost in the Wild Card round for the fourth consecutive season. Marvin Lewis’ team opened the second half with five straight punts, and the team has scored a total of six points in the second half of their last four playoff appearances. Cincinnati remains in a tough spot with their quarterback situation; Dalton is good enough to get to the playoffs but not good enough to a win there (unless he’s surrounded with Seattle-like talent). It’s the NFL’s version of purgatory.
Why didn’t Cardinals turn to Logan Thomas? Bruce Arians is known for his fortitude on the offensive side of the ball, but he made a big mistake sticking with Ryan Lindley at quarterback against Carolina. With Lindley under centre, the Cardinals were putrid on offence, finishing with 78 yards on 16 offensive drives. Lindley averaged 2.9 yards per attempt and went nearly a full two quarters without completing a pass for positive yards. It begs the question: why didn’t Arians give Logan Thomas a shot in the second half? Yes, Thomas is a raw rookie who might not have been ready but could he realistically have done any worse than one of the lowest offensive outputs in playoff history? They were the first team in the Super Bowl era to be held under 100 total yards in a playoff game. Arizona’s defence deserved better. Thomas’ dad agrees.
Steelers weren’t the same without Bell: Because of Baltimore’s poor pass defence during the regular season, many were of the belief that Pittsburgh could make due without star running back Le’Veon Bell and beat Baltimore through the air. That didn’t turn out to be case. Bell’s absence hurt Pittsburgh in many areas. First, obviously, was the running game that finished with just 68 yards on 19 carries (3.6 yards per carry), but the problems ran deeper. Without Bell, the Steelers couldn’t consistently protect the passer – allowing five sacks – and were forced to use more max protections that ultimately limited their options in the passing game.
