The NFL almost always gets it right.

It’s why the league is so successful. It’s why we’re all addicted. It’s why the overwhelming majority of the most-watched shows across all of television every year are NFL games.

But that doesn’t mean the league doesn’t make mistakes with rule changes that hurt the product.

And on championship Sunday, we were reminded of two that were totally unnecessary and hurt the fan experience.

Let’s start with one that reared its head in both the AFC and NFC Championship Game: The removal of the chain gang as the mode of measurement on close first down decisions.

I loved the chain gang. The drama of watching the chains come out, the measurement, and the moment in which the crowd and every fan at home—plus the players on both side of the call—realized where it was going was incredible. It was edge of your seat television.

Now? We get notified, sometimes after commercial, sometimes without any semblance of drama, that technology has deemed the ball reached or didn’t reach the first down marker—even if our eyes and screens tell us it was very, very close.

We saw it twice yesterday: On New England’s controversial Tush Push on 4th and 1 deep in Denver territory and the Cooper Kupp catch and tumble for a first down that effectively iced the game for Seattle. Both would have been chain gang plays in the old days. Now we’re just told the first down was the first down at the spot that was decided.

It stinks.

Then there’s the Riq Woolen taunting call that nearly flipped the NFC Championship. Was the call correct? Of course. By the letter of the (new) law, that’s taunting. Woolen deserved to be flagged. But is the rule really necessary? Is taunting so bad in pro football that the rule had to be put in place? I say no.

Yesterday was the last true football Sunday of the year. It was mostly great, except for two league-mandated changes that made it not as great as it could have been.

Of course Jalen Hurts should have say in who the new Eagles offensive coordinator is.

Download WIP Daily.

Thanks for reading and subscribing!