Rival executives think Lions got screwed out of a playoff berth by officials

The Detroit Lions missed the postseason thanks to some questionable calls in the Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams game last Sunday.

As much as Detroit fans and neutral football fans alike would have liked to see the Lions in the postseason this coming weekend, it wasn’t meant to be. The Lions had to beat the Green Bay Packers — which they accomplished — and needed some help from the Los Angeles Rams.

Baker Mayfield and Co. took the Seattle Seahawks into overtime, but could not come out with the victory.

Still, NFL executives aren’t happy with the officiating from that game. While Detroit has for the most part remained mum on the subject, rival execs raised some serious questions about the officiating crew.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter described the outrage in his column:

Those same executives and coaches said game officials and the league missed multiple calls that helped key the Seahawks’ overtime victory over the Rams that sent Seattle to Saturday’s wild-card round and prevented the Detroit Lions from reaching the playoffs. Even the NFL’s competition committee is aware of what one source described to ESPN ‘as the worst officiated game of the year.’”

Should the Detroit Lions have made the playoffs?

Detroit made a glorious run to end the season after a dreadful start, and were just one Baker Mayfield duck away from starting their own playoff run this Saturday or Sunday.

This season was a great experience for the Lions, a team few thought would be in this position just a year ago. Dan Campbell has proven an effective leader of men, and the Detroit coaching staff is one of the best in the NFL — hence the head coaching interviews for Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn.

If Detroit can carry this momentum over to next season, and perhaps have a better start to the year, the NFC North better watch out.