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The 49ers beat the Seahawks Thursday night to secure the NFC West Championship. At 21:13 it was closer than it should have been.
The dagger should have come with more than 12 minutes to go in the third quarter. A pass from Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was intercepted by 49ers defensive back Deommodore Lenoir. He returned it for a touchdown. The extra point would have led to 28:3.
But there was a flag on the field. Referee Alex Kemp called out the passer, on 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa. It was as weak a call as Sunday night’s to Dolphins defensive end Jaelen Phillips. And the league has since admitted the flag on Phillips was wrong.
Amazon’s Kirk Herbstreit defended the call against Bosa. Rules analyst Terry McAulay did not interfere.
Nevertheless, and with all due respect to Herbstreit, it didn’t upset the passers-by.
But it was because it was called. And again, the problem arises from the rulebook, which mandates setting a flag “when in doubt” as to whether roughing has occurred.
That’s how the points came off the board. The Seahawks kept the ball, and they eventually turned what should have been a four-point game at the time into a one-point finish.
This is another reason why these pieces need to be re-tested. Or ideally, why the “when in doubt” language should be removed from the rulebook.
The end result was a game that stayed closer than it should have been and got tighter as the second half progressed. While the Seahawks definitely could have shouted back, psychologically there’s a big difference between 28-3 and 21-3.
The good news is that it ultimately didn’t affect the game. The better news (for the league) is that the game stayed interesting for much longer than it should have.
Still, the rule needs to be addressed — before it affects the outcome of a playoff game or, worse, a Super Bowl.
The league has acknowledged the fact that potential changes are being discussed in the off-season. We hope this isn’t just idle talk aimed at overcoming a short-term controversy while still clinging to a longer-term obsession with sacrificing the integrity of the game to ensure as many quarterbacks as possible remain healthy.