The New York Times is not a fan of this weekend's games.

[Rain Man]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/s...sK7L_lKP_lxHXY

Selected excerpts include:

...the league’s bounce-back season was knocked off stride on Sunday, as officials in the two conference championship games made baffling, controversial calls that to some degree overshadowed the otherwise thrilling matchups.


The A.F.C. championship game in Kansas City got off to a controversy-free start. But as the Chiefs battled back from a first-half deficit against the New England Patriots, another officiating decision, midway through the fourth quarter, brought the game to a halt. It came when the Chiefs scored a touchdown after Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, serving as the team’s punt returner, appeared to have touched a punt that Kansas City then picked up and took into the end zone.

But after a lengthy video review, the referees determined that the ball never hit Edelman, even though replays suggested that it might have just barely nicked his thumbs.

Chiefs fans, meanwhile, were also aggrieved by a roughing-the-passer call on a second-and-7 in the fourth quarter after defensive lineman Chris Jones landed a seemingly innocuous slap on Brady’s shoulder as he made a throw. But a 15-yard penalty was enforced, and the Patriots went on to score one of the go-ahead touchdowns that punctuated the last part of the game.

As exciting as they were, Sunday’s two games left some fans feeling that asterisks should be affixed to the final scores, a sentiment that may tarnish some of the positive signs for the N.F.L. this season.

Much of the renewed interest comes from a bevy of young stars, like quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, and a bunch of scoring records that fell faster than you can say “Brady to Edelman.”