Many of us were watching the so called "Game of the Year" on December 17, 2017 at 4:30. Two of the best teams in the NFL faced off at Heinz Field in Pittsburg when the 11-2 Steelers played against the 10-3 Patriots. In a game filled with drama, it was only right that it came down to the final drive. Now, as a Ravens fan, there is nothing worse than having to choose to root for either the Steelers or the Patriots. I am sure I'm not the only person who can't get myself to root for the Patriots, even if they are playing against our division rival.
That being said, even for me it was not easy to see Antonio Brown helped off the field. He is the epitome of what a Wide Receiver should be. He's one of the best, if not the best route runners the game has ever seen. Now put him and a star like Le'veon Bell against Tom Brady and the Patriots and it is bound to be one of the games of the year. It lived up to the hype. After Brown's injury, sending him to the hospital, the Steelers were desperate for production elsewhere. They got a Touchdown and over 100 yards from running back Le'veon Bell, touchdowns from Eli Rogers and Martavis Bryant, and over 100 yards receiving from 21 year old rookie Juju Smith-Schuster.
In the moment, it seemed like that was going to be enough to defeat Brady, Belichick and the Patriots... but somehow it ended in a Patriots victory. Fast forward to the fourth quarter, one minute remaining, Brady hands the ball off to Dion Lewis for a go ahead touchdown plus a Gronkowski 2-point conversion puts the Pats up by 3. Steelers get the ball back with 1 minute to go. A 66 yard catch to Juju Smith-Schuster puts them in the red zone where all they need is a field goal to send it to overtime, or a touchdown to win it. Unsurprisingly, they went for the win and it looked like they had it... Jesse James caught the ball, untouched, at the one yard line where he twisted his way into the endzone... Touchdown right? Wrong. James never made a "football move" and lost the ball on impact with the ground after crossing the plane.
This play is yet another example of the unclear NFL rules regarding what is and what is not a catch. Next play Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception in the end zone, in doing so he gave the game to the Patriots... The fans and the NFL universe immediately took to twitter criticizing the unclear rules. This play brought flashbacks to the infamous Dez Bryant "no catch." I just hope, as a fan, that the NFL clears the confusion up regarding what is and what isn't a catch. No fan, even if they root for the Steelers or the Patriots deserves to lose such an important game in that manner.
