Carolina Panthers

NFL Week 15 Overreactions

Published Dec. 19, 2017 12:14 p.m. ET

Bust out the protractors and rulers, refs. All your old-school stationery supplies are fair game for measurements in the NFL.

Referee Gene Steratore's decision to use a folded index card for a first-down measurement that went in favor of Dallas against the Raiders will start a new trend. Football is a game of inches. Making the right call is crucial so refs need all the help they can get.

Give them calculators, erasers and No. 2 pencils, too. Perhaps the league's competition committee will change the rules to allow referees to carry these supplies onto the field.

After all, it worked so well for Steratore, who saw it one way while cameras suggested he was wrong.

Here are more overreactions following Week 15:

------

OVERREACTION: Spoiling a pity parade will spark the Browns (0-14) to finally win a game.

REALISTIC REACTION: Why not? Nothing else worked.

------

OVERREACTION: Colin Kaepernick will return to the NFL after he teams up with P. Diddy to buy the Panthers.

REALISTIC REACTION: He'd have to trade Cam Newton.

------

OVERREACTION: The Steelers (10-3) can't win without Antonio Brown.

REALISTIC REACTION: They almost beat the Patriots (10-3) with their star receiver missing most of the game.

------

OVERREACTION: Nate Sudfeld could toss four TD passes throwing in Philadelphia's offense.

REALISTIC REACTION: Carson Wentz and Nick Foles doing it in consecutive weeks doesn't mean whoever lines up under center for the Eagles (12-2) will have similar success. And, they don't want to find out.

------

OVERREACTION: Aaron Rodgers lost his magic touch.

REALISTIC REACTION: He was coming back from surgery on a broken collarbone. He's not Superman.

------

OVERREACTION: Playoff football will fill the seats in Los Angeles.

REALISTIC REACTION: Too many seats to fill in the Coliseum.

------

OVERREACTION: Earl Thomas and Bobby Wagner will settle their differences in locker-room scrap.

REALISTIC REACTION: It's already forgotten.

------

OVERREACTION: The Vikings are the scariest team in the NFC playoffs.

REALISTIC REACTION: Case Keenum is still their quarterback.

------

OVERREACTION: The Bills will end their 17-year playoff drought.

REALISTIC REACTION: They're not winning in New England and beating the Dolphins twice in three weeks will be a tough task. They could end up 8-8.

------

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP--NFL

------

Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP--RobMaaddi