Just about everybody got a crack at being wrong when Drew Brees fumbled against the Lions in the second quarter of Saturday's NFC wild card game against the Lions.
And it was all Willie Young's fault.
If Young, a second-year defensive end out of North Carolina State, had not strip-sacked Brees on second down, the officials would never have had an opportunity to blow the whistle and incorrectly call Brees' fumble an incomplete pass.
Had the officials never blown the play dead, Lions linebacker Justin Durant probably would have picked up the football and taken it the 70 yards or so for a touchdown.
Had Durant scored, the Lions probably would have taken a 21-7 lead on a Jason Hanson extra point.
If any of this had happened, announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth would not have stated that because the whistle blew before the Lions had possession, the play should be dead and the Saints should retain possession. That rule was changed after an inadvertent whistle by Ed Hochuli in 2009 cost the Chargers a recovery of a Jay Cutler fumble.
What's more, armchair referees across America and on the Internet would not have needed to opine about whether the call was right, whether the announcers were misinformed or whether it even really mattered in a game the Saints eventually won 45-28 while piling up a playoff-record 626 yards.
Well, alright, we just would have found something else to wail about.
The play by Young that set off that chain reaction was eventually, correctly, ruled a fumble, but because of the whistle, the Lions defenders were not allowed to advance the ball. A potential 14-point lead fizzled when the Lions' offense failed to score.
Despite the fumble ruling, it can't be said that anybody was really right, but everyone was at least a little wrong.
Photo of the day
Yup, that's definitely an incomplete pass or a fumble. It's definitely one of those two.
Quote of the day
"This is something not just for me, but for the whole organization. It's a very special feeling. That's probably the most I've smiled in a long time."
— Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson on his team's playoff victory, the first in franchise history
Tweet of the day
Answer: Because Anthony Rizzo's 22 years old and it's rare for prospects to be rushed to the big leagues like he was in 2011 (former No. 1 overall pick Adrian Gonzalez didn't become a full-time major leaguer until he was 24), and because he's only played two years of professional baseball after losing most of 2008 due to chemotherapy treatments for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
You're welcome.
Video of the day
Those go-kart racers are so bad ass.
