The NFL has issued a statement regarding the illegal formation that was not penalized during the field goal in the final seconds of regulation yesterday. Had the play been called correctly, it is very likely that the Steelers would be in the playoffs instead of the Chargers.

Here is the statement:

With 0:08 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers, Kansas City faced a fourth-and-12 from the San Diego 23.  The Chiefs attempted a 41-yard field that was no good.

On the play, San Diego lined up with seven men on one side of the snapper.  This should have been penalized as an illegal formation by the defense.

Rule 9, Section 1, Article 3 (b) (1) of the NFL Rule Book (page 51) states that “No more than six Team B players may be on the line of scrimmage on either side of the snapper at the snap.”

The penalty for illegal formation by the defense is a loss of five yards.  This is not subject to instant replay review.  Had the penalty been assessed, it would have resulted in a fourth-and-seven from the San Diego 18 with 0:04 remaining, enabling the Chiefs to attempt a 36-yard field goal.

The 2014 NFL Draft order for the non-playoff teams is locked in. The Pittsburgh Steelers will select with the 15th pick in the first round. The last time the Steelers had a pick as low as 15 was in 2007, when they selected ILB Lawrence Timmons. Here is the 2014 draft order for the teams who did not make the playoffs:

1.  Houston Texans – 2-14
2.  St. Louis Rams (via Washington Redskins) – 3-13
3.  Jacksonville Jaguars – 4-12
4.  Cleveland Browns – 4-12
5.  Oakland Raiders – 4-12
6.  Atlanta Falcons – 4-12
7.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 4-12
8.  Minnesota Vikings – 5-10-1
9.  Buffalo Bills – 6-10
10. Detroit Lions – 7-9
11.  Tennessee Titans – 7-9
12.  New York Giants – 7-9
13.  St. Louis Rams – 7-9
14.  Chicago Bears – 8-8
15.  Pittsburgh Steelers – 8-8
16 or 17. Baltimore Ravens – 8-8
16 or 17. Dallas Cowboys – 8-8
18.  New York Jets – 8-8
19.  Miami Dolphins – 8-8
20.  Arizona Cardinals – 10-5

As you can see, even though there are 6 teams who finished 8-8, the Steelers pick 15th due to tie breaking procedures. The tie breakers are as follows:

1. Strength of schedule, which is the combined win-loss record for all 16 of the team’s opponents in the previous season. The team with the lower strength of schedule (i.e. their opponents compiled fewer wins) is granted the earlier pick in round one.

2. Division tiebreakers (if the teams are in the same division).

3. Conference tiebreakers (if the teams are in the same conference).

4. Coin toss which occurs at the NFL Combine. The Ravens and Cowboys will flip to decide who will pick 16th or 17th.

I’ll be posting pretty regularly about the Steelers 2014 draft prospects and draft related news during the off-season, so stayed tuned.

To add insult to injury to Steelers fans, the refs missed an easy call during the missed KC field goal that would have won the game at the end of the 4th quarter, sending the Steelers to the playoffs. As you can see in the picture below, the Chargers have 7 linemen lined up to the right of the Chiefs center, which is illegal. You are not permitted to have more than 6 men lined up on either side of the center at the line of scrimmage.

The Chargers should have been flagged for illegal formation, and the Chiefs should have had another attempt at the field goal from a closer distance. Before you say it- illegal formation is not reviewable.

Despite taking care of business at home against the Browns, and having both the Ravens and Dolphins lose, the Steelers playoff hopes were dashed in overtime when the Chargers beat the Chiefs 27-24 as their starters looked on from the sideline. Who would have thought during week 4 that the Steelers would still be in playoff contention during the final seconds of another team’s game in week 17. It was really the cherry on top of a season that was full of “almosts”.