Sunday Rundown: Hate the rule, not the call

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

The best game of the divisional round was decided by the NFL's worst rule.

Trailing the Green Bay Packers by one score late in the fourth quarter, the Dallas Cowboys threw a deep fade on fourth-and-short - easily the gutsiest call of the weekend - and converted it. Star receiver Dez Bryant leaped to make the catch, stabbed the ball with his large mitts, took a few steps and lunged for the pylon, extending the ball. He was ruled down at the 1-yard line, setting up first-and-goal with a trip to Seattle on the line.

It was a truly stunning catch, the sort only elite receivers like Bryant is talented enough to make - which is sickeningly ironic considering what happened moments later.

The Packers challenged the play and won. No catch. The Packers took over on downs and ran out the clock.

And football fans around the world temporarily questioned their grip on reality.

In today's NFL, apparently it's not enough to catch the ball, tuck it and take three steps. You must maintain possession all the way to the ground regardless of where you are on the field or if you were touched by a defender. The so-called "Calvin Johnson rule" strikes again.

By most accounts, the officials at Sunday's game enforced the rule correctly, though it's difficult to say so with any certainty because so few people (including those employed at high levels in football) seem to understand the nuances of the convoluted rule. Former NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira said on the game broadcast Bryant had "clear control" of the ball but added that "possession is another issue."

Um, what?

Bryant was despondent on the field and in the locker room after the game, saying he knows he made the catch and lost the ball reaching for the end zone. He begged the NFL to change the rule.

He's absolutely right. It's inexcusable for the NFL to move forward with a rule that's not only incomprehensible to the vast majority of fans, but one that also seems to contradict another rule most understand as a fundamental truth in football: the ground can't cause a fumble.

But it turns out the ground can cause a fumble, or at least an incompletion, provided the receiver is in the "act of making a catch." If you know what, precisely, constitutes such an act, consider yourself in a very small minority.

It's unfortunate the Bryant reversal will be the enduring takeaway from an excellent football game that featured courageous performances by two battered quarterbacks, but it's the reality the NFL has created for itself. In the quest to review every key moment and get every call exactly right, the league has managed to strip away the essence of the sport and replace it with unbearable minutiae.

Bryant and fans of the sport have every right to demand change.

All good things...

If Sunday's loss is the last time we see Peyton Manning on an NFL field, it will be a terribly sad end to a career that brought fans so much joy. Manning's Denver Broncos were vanquished with relative ease by his former team, the Indianapolis Colts, as the boos rained down from a shockingly heartless home crowd.

It will also be a fitting end, albeit in a manner Manning probably would have preferred to avoid.

This wasn't a case of the student getting the best of his teacher - Manning and Andrew Luck were never on the same roster - but it was impossible to watch Sunday's game and not see a torch being passed. The story of the NFL is told in eras, and Manning's is likely at its end.

Welcome to the Andrew Luck era.

If Manning never plays another snap, his story will end as far too many of its chapters did: in crushing playoff disappointment. As was often the case even in his prime years, Manning's regular season magic was nowhere to be found Sunday. He looked flustered, missed throws and let the game slip away from him.

This time, however, it was different. Manning's will to fight seemed to fade until there was nothing left. He walked off the field not in defeat, or even despair, but rather numbness.

Really, the walk began weeks ago. Something changed in early December and Manning's high level of play dropped off a cliff. In his last five games, including Sunday's contest, he threw four touchdowns and six interceptions.

Those aren't Peyton Manning numbers. He's no longer the Peyton Manning we know and love.

The question isn't whether the 38-year-old played Sunday's game hurt - he undoubtedly did - it's whether he'll ever be healthy again. Manning's arm strength is shot. Maybe it's the result of the degenerative spinal condition that led to his release by the Colts, but maybe it's the result of age and all the throws he's made. The mind is still there, but the body isn't cooperating. It's hard to believe it will cooperate again.

A month ago, Manning said he planned to return in 2015 if the Broncos will have him. After Sunday's game, he was noncommittal, suggesting he knows the end has arrived.

Even if Manning wants to play on, his decision isn't the only one that matters. The Broncos must ask themselves if they're willing to pay $19 million and potentially lose one or more of their many key free agents to take one more run with Manning. The two sides could renegotiate, but Manning's never had interest in playing for less than top dollar.

All good things must come to an end. Manning, probably the most self-aware player both on and off the field in NFL history, knows this. He says he won't rush to a decision, but it's likely he already knows the answer.

Stray Thoughts

• The final four: Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. If you don't have a superstar quarterback, you don't have much of anything.
• The New England Patriots are the first team to reach four straight conference championship games since the 1990-93 Bills. We'll see if they emerge with the same number of Super Bowl titles.
• Bill Belichick was asked in late September if he had considered benching Brady for Jimmy Garoppolo. He laughed. You probably did reading that, too.
• Who else but Jerry Jones would have the confidence (perhaps hubris is a better word) to allow his coaches' contracts to expire, making them free agents, without fear of losing all of them?
• One of Sunday's biggest wins came off the field. The Buffalo Bills hiring Rex Ryan is something fans of the team should get very, very excited about - and fans of the New York Jets should dread.

Injury Ward

Recapping the weekend's most significant injuries. 

Paul Richardson, WR, Seahawks
Torn ACL. Out for season.
The rookie wideout was starting to emerge and bolster the Seahawks' deep passing game. Now he'll be hard-pressed to return to health in time for Week 1, 2015. The already thin Seahawks receiving corps will move forward with Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse as its top two (and perhaps only) weapons.

Stat of the Week