Vikings linebacker Gerald Hodges made contact with Dolphins rookie receiver Jarvis Landry Madden 24 coins  decidedly in bounds but was penalized for taking his opponent on the floor). There was even a quarterback error that was considered to be an incomplete pass with no appeal (Big Ben's hand was empty as hell against the Chiefs).

There was however one call that was so offensive and irresponsible that I'm sure that the person who made the call cannot be permitted to be in the vicinity of any playoff games. It was the absurd taunting penalty that was imposed by Steelers cornerback William Gay after a particularly spectacular, unspectacular play made by Steelers middle linebacker Lawrence Timmons on third down.

Picture this, the Steelers were leading 17-6 in a need to win game with 12:39 left to play in the fourth period. Their opponents who was the Chiefs were facing a third-and-17 situation from their 23-yard line. The Steelers Of course, they played way off the receivers by defending the entire field and forced Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith to dump the ball towards tight-end Travis Kelce. Timmons was to the opposite side of the formation, in the coverage area but hauled ass and made an one-on-1 tackle in the field in the open for an increase of just two yards. It might have appeared like something that was routine, however there was no way Kelce would gain enough yardage to get the first down anyway. If you look closely at the play, you have to be amazed by how fast Timmons was and be able to gather himself and then make a certain tackle. This is the exact opposite of routine or simple.

As far as I can know, one of these idiots was the one who threw the flag as they believed Gay was mocking an Chiefs player when there wasn't one near by. And all because he stood in the middle of the field and crossed his arms. Dassit. They all refused to glance towards the Jumbotron to find out the absurdity of the call they were going to make.

The Steelers had battled their bodies off to oblige the Chiefs into a punt, however, because of an unconstitutional and inconsistent rule that allows referees to call stuff they didn't actually observe, and one that doesn't permit a review to keep the refs up to date as well, the Steelers defense was forced back to the field while the Chiefs kept going. They were still capable of limiting the Chiefs to a field goal, but what if this hadn't been the scenario? What is the possibility that the Chiefs had marched across the field after that stupid at-home taunting penalty and scored a touchdown which gave them the momentum they needed to rebound and eventually beat the Chiefs?

This league will have plenty to answer for if this were the case. One potential division winner was kicked from the postseason as a result of a taunting penalty against one player who did not taunt anybody. I could see the headlines.

Lem Barney gives the sport of football another 20 years until it's gone. This Hall of Fame defensive back offered cheap mut 24 coins  his prediction and acknowledged his regret over playing last week at the Sound Mind and Body Camp in Michigan. It was Sunday and Barney offered apologies for creating a space full of football coaches face an uncomfortable truth about football. Barney stood behind the substance of his comments.