Last weekend, Pittsburgh stunned Indianapolis in a thrilling 21-18 win, while the Broncos ended the Patriots' run as champions with a 27-13 victory. But both games were marred by poor officiating that had fans, the media, coaches and even some players voicing their outrage.
The controversy in the Patriots game revolved around two plays: a pass interference call in the second quarter that set up the Broncos first touchdown, and a review of a third-quarter fumble that may or may not have gone out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
If the official had ruled that the ball went out of bounds in the end zone, the Patriots would have gotten possession. Instead Denver scored a touchdown and took control of the game.
The call was terrible. As cornerback Asante Samuel was going for an interception, receiver Ashley Lelie initiated contact. If anything, it should have been a penalty on Lelie. As for the fumble, replays offered no evidence to overrule the initial call that the ball went out of bounds at the 1-yard line, so no huge mistake by the refs there.
The officiating didn't get any better in Sunday's game between the Colts and Steelers. With the Steelers up 21-10, Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu dove to intercept a pass, rolling over several times before trying to get up and run with the ball, which he fumbled and recovered.
Colts coach Tony Dungy challenged the call attemping to get possession. Referee Pete Morelli ruled the pass incomplete.
Despite the bad calls, it was terrible plays that decided the games. Peyton Manning once again had a terrible playoff performance (a trait that Peyton's father, Archie, appears to have passed on to both of his sons after brother Eli's terrible performance for the Giants two weeks ago.) Manning couldn't adjust to the unrelenting blitz of the Steelers and looked confused on the sidelines.
Even though Peyton was terrible and the running game didn't show up, the Colts still had a chance to win the game thanks to the officials and a jaw-dropping, heart attack-inducing fumble by Jerome Bettis on the goal line.
However, everyone's favorite idiot kicker Mike Vanderjagt didn't just miss a 46-yard field goal that would have tied the game. He kicked the ball so poorly that it wouldn't have been good from 10 yards away.
As sloppy as the Colts played, at least they had a recent history of bad playoff games. New England's play was just as appalling and way more shocking. If before the game, someone had told me one team was going to turn over the ball five times, I don't think anyone would have been surprised, seeing as Jake Plummer starts for the Broncos. Yet Plummer was the quarterback who avoided mistakes. It was Tom Brady who not only threw two interceptions, but also missed wide-open receivers.
But Brady isn't the only one to blame, as seemingly every important member of the Patriots "dynasty" made bad plays. Even Adam Vinatieri missed a crucial field goal. It was a shocking display of poor football from a team that seemed to be immune to mistakes. Denver is not a great team, but neither were the Patriots that night.
The NFL got lucky last weekend. The teams remaining in the playoffs may not be great, but they all deserved to win their games this weekend. With Plummer taking the field again (and due for a meltdown) this weekend against a confident Steelers defense, the league should make sure that the best officiating crews are working, because there is no telling what damage it would do to the league if bad calls decided who will play in Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
