Why I'm not too pissed about the Patriots vs Panthers pathetic pass interference play

First off, I think Rob Gronkowski had zero chance of actually catching that ball.  But I do think he was close enough that he might have been able to get involved in the play with Robert Lester, and then who knows what happens?  Maybe the ball would have popped up in the air and somebody else might have caught it?  However Gronk never got that chance, because Luke Kuechly had already interfered with him.  That's a penalty.

Hmm...

But I'm honestly not that upset about it, because I think last night's game will make no difference to the 7-3 Patriots in the long run.  In all likelihood, whoever wins the West (Denver or Kansas City, both 9-1) is getting the AFC's #1 seed.  After the Broncos next week, New England's schedule gets a lot easier (at Houston, Cleveland, at Miami, at Baltimore, and home vs Buffalo).  They should finish 12-4 or 11-5, and probably still end up with the 2nd seed in the conference.  Who might they be afraid of?  The 7-3 Colts?  Maybe.  The 7-4 Bengals?  Probably not.  Chances are the Pats will be #2 overall regardless of whether they won or lost last night (even if they have a worse record than the AFC West's second place team, by winning their division they'd still get the higher seed and home field advantage).  Plus, in recent history there has been no correlation between having a top seed and winning the Super Bowl.

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