Football fans were a bit upset at the conclusion of the AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
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As the Patriots were celebrating the 24-20 win over the Jaguars, one unexpected person became one of the first to congratulate quarterback Tom Brady: an official.
First guy to congratulate Brady? Number 34. What a teammate! pic.twitter.com/azXq3qgN43
— CSU Rams Basketball Szn (@OurStateCSU) January 21, 2018
While an official becoming one of the first to congratulate Brady on the win certainly doesn't mean the game was rigged in any way, it is an awkward look for the league and its image. The game did have a few questionable calls that conspiracy theorists would enjoy as the Patriots benefited by a couple of those calls.
The Jaguars were flagged for a pass interference call that allowed the Patriots to drive down the field and score a touchdown just before halftime. Then, in the fourth quarter, the referees blew a play dead moments after Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack recovered a fumble and appeared to have an easy path toward returning the ball for a touchdown.
The Patriots were called for just one penalty during the game, which is the lowest for a team in any playoff game since the 2011 AFC Championship Game. Of course, fans still went on social media to trash the NFL with their conspiracy theories:
https://twitter.com/theRealLT_/status/955215645834141697
https://twitter.com/FFFwriter/status/955224408183930882
Patriots 1 penalty all game. I mean I’m not saying rigged but cmon now! Cmon.
— Chris Bassitt (@C_Bass419) January 21, 2018
Rigged pic.twitter.com/5WQexWcD6B
— Michael (@mv__121) January 21, 2018
You can imagine how much more of this will pop up before the big game in a couple of weeks.
