From lockouts to receiving records, Andrew Luck to RG3, the Saints and their sanctions to Ray Lewis and deer antlers, this year in the NFL has been filled with feel-good stories and controversy. Here are a few of the headlines from the season.
This NFL season had a rocky start with the referee lockout that began in June. The football community was in an uproar as memes and blogs constantly questioned the abilities of the interim refs. But the straw that broke the camel’s back fell after the Seahawks “Hail Mary” in their game against the Packers on Sept. 23, 2012.
One referee called a touch- down while the other called an interception. The touchdown call prevailed and the Seahawks won the game 13-12. This con- troversial call exposed the need for a return of the locked-out, but more experienced referees. The NFL and NFL Referees Association finally reached an agreement in September after pressure from the fans reached an unbearable level.
In week five of the season, the Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Since 1960, Unitas held the record at 47 until Brees broke it in a game against the San Diego Chargers by throwing a now-famous touchdown pass in his 48th consecutive game.
Each year, fans relish com- paring the best quarterbacks in the league. This year, the much anticipated regular season face- off between Tom Brady of the Patriots and Peyton Manning of the Broncos left New En- gland on top, 31-21. During the playoffs, neither of the quarterbacks, however, proved a match for Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens. Manning and the Broncos fell first to the Ravens with a 38-35 loss in a riveting overtime game. The following week, the Patriots also fell short to the Ravens, and their hopes of winning their fourth Super Bowl since 2000 were crushed with a 28- 13 loss as the Ravens claimed the conference championship title and a spot in Super Bowl XLVII.
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