Rex Ryan should have opened up his postgame press conference cussing out Walt Anderson's crew and he shouldn't have stopped until the press conference was over. The butterfly effect is tricky to track, but the Bills were down by six points with less than a minute remaining in Seattle and they were robbed of an easy field-goal opportunity by the referees before halftime.
The Bills coach didn't swear, but he was pretty fired up.
"Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous," Rex said of the sequence.
Asked about the explanation he received, Ryan said "it doesn't matter, it was wrong."
There's always some kind of shenanigans during prime-time games in Seattle, and Monday night was no different. But the Bills getting completely jobbed by the officiating crew is not up for debate.
You can read the full breakdown of what happened in the moment here, but let's run through it step-by-step again.
1. Richard Sherman jumped offsides on a field-goal attempt and ran into Dan Carpenter's knee while going for the ball.
List of players you are allowed to illegally hit with no repercussion: Cam Newton. Kickers. #BUFvsSEA#Seahawkspic.twitter.com/iVKYHV5D4w
— John Breech (@johnbreech) November 8, 2016
2. Sherman was flagged for being offsides but not for the unnecessary roughness. More critical, Carpenter was attended to by trainers, so he had to leave the field.
3. Rex Ryan lost his mind, then Walt Anderson lost control.
4. Jonathan Williams, a Bills running back, had to spike the ball.
5. The Bills went to kick the ball and the officials wouldn't get out of the way, so they called the Bills for delay of game.
The official was still over the ball when the play clock expired. Delay of game on the offense! pic.twitter.com/OylelWEfMi
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 8, 2016
6. The Bills missed the field goal.
The problems here are plentiful. Buffalo should have gotten a 15-yard penalty on Sherman for diving head first into Carpenter's knee. The play was blown dead but it's a layup to throw a flag for unnecessary roughness there. It's impossible to believe everyone swallowed the whistle.
Also concerning is how Anderson's crew completely melted down in the moment.
Don't usually tweet during games but it was almost a riot down here on the field at end of half. Walt Anderson totally lost control of game
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) November 8, 2016
Anderson sounded like a traffic cop who got run over by a mack truck.
"The half is not over!" Anderson shouted on his mic. "The half is not over, there's 3 seconds on the clock!"
And of course there's the worst thing: The officials delayed the game for the Bills and cost them the field goal opportunity from 5 yards closer.
The NFL vice president of officiating admitted following the game it was a mistake by the officials and Carpenter should've been at least 5 yards closer.
On NFL Network, @DeanBlandino confirms officials should have reset play clock before Bills' delay of game at end of first half.
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) November 8, 2016
The game itself was a fantastic affair -- 56 points scored, a close finish and high drama. But the black eye from another badly botched game by the officials will linger.
Buffalo was trailing by six points and should've been down by three points with an opportunity to tie the game. Instead, Tyrod Taylor was forced to throw long on third and fourth down near the end zone.
The league addresses them after each game, but this has been happening for a few years now, with nothing more than a "WELP" response. It needs to be fixed. Rex is right -- it's ridiculous.
Here are seven more things to know from a wild Monday night in Seattle:
2. About that Seattle run game
The blunder from the officials will bury the lede a bit from this game: Seattle does not look like a quality rushing team right now.
Tyler Lockett (!) was the Seahawks' leading rusher Monday night, with feature back Christine Michael rushing five times for 1 yard (?) and a 1-yard touchdown.
This is ugly.
The offensive line is a problem. Guys can't block. The good news is Russell Wilson is a pretty talented quarterback, and managed to go 20 for 26 for 282 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
But this team needs to quickly figure out the offensive line situation and hope Thomas Rawls can get back within the next couple of weeks. The running game has stalled and Seattle, despite the wins and despite the spot in the standings (first), doesn't quite have the identity it would like to have.
3. Not a foul here either
There's going to be a lot of yelling about another big hit from Sherman on the final play of the game.
Wonder why this guy wasn't open pic.twitter.com/kBjkBl86KU
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) November 8, 2016
Don't get too worked up about it, because the rulebook actually says that "if the quarterback leaves the pocket area with the ball in his possession, the restrictions on illegal contact and an illegal cut block both end," meaning as soon as Tyrod Taylor is outside of the pocket Sherman can hammer whoever he wants.
Taylor was very much outside of the pocket and Sherman is just being hyper-intelligent about taking a man out of a play by utilizing a loophole in the rulebook that allows him to punish a receiver.
@Deadspin that's what happens when the Qb scrambles..... check the rule book ......
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 8, 2016
4. Jumpin' Jimmy
If anyone thought patellar tendon surgery might rob Jimmy Graham of his athleticism, well, the tight end would like a word. Graham hasn't returned to his Saints form quite yet -- and might never because of how the offense operates -- but he sure came close on Monday night.
In the first half alone, Graham reeled in two one-handed touchdown passes from Russell Wilson.
UNREAL.@TheJimmyGraham makes a beautiful one-handed TD grab.
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
Making it look easy. #BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/4JOrKyaKMz
Not again, @TheJimmyGraham...
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
Oh yeah. He did it again.
ONE. HANDED. TD. 😱 #BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/LdVHKwMm2l
And in between the scores he promptly hurdled another human being.
.@TheJimmyGraham is BACK.#BUFvsSEApic.twitter.com/glIDOrrcFR
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
There has been a lot of talk about the Seahawks regretting the Graham trade with the Saints because of how badly their offensive line has struggled. That's still very true -- the struggling part -- but Graham is playing really good football this year.
He's still not a year removed from surgery (he was hurt in late November last year) and could be a monster down the stretch for the Seahawks if he keeps this up.
Russell Wilson when targeting Jimmy Graham or Doug Baldwin: 13 of 13 for 193 yards and 2 TDs (both Graham's) #BUFvsSEA
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 8, 2016
5. Stare down
If you throw in Richard Sherman's direction, he's gonna let you know not to do that. And he did it with Rex Ryan, giving him a full stare down after making an interception off Tyrod Taylor in the end zone.
Feel like Rex Ryan told Richard Sherman to meet him in the parking lot after the game #Seahawks#Bills#BUFvsSEApic.twitter.com/TN7NEiHrmA
— John Breech (@johnbreech) November 8, 2016
UFC 205: Richard Sherman vs Rex Ryan pic.twitter.com/k8YayxVcqW
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) November 8, 2016
The interception itself was actually Taylor's first turnover on the road this season, per the ESPN broadcast, a pretty impressive feat since it's Week 9.
Tyrod throws it right to...@RSherman_25!
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
Going the other way! #BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/Awz4bABqTi
During the exchange, Rex said he gave Sherman a little bit of juice.
"You're too good a player to act like an ass," Ryan said afterward.
6. TyGod breaks out
What a moment in the game when Sean McDonough wondered aloud if folks would rather have Joe Flacco at quarterback or Tyrod Taylor. Travel back and tell someone from 2012 this will be a question, and that the question isn't really a debate because Taylor looks like a better quarterback.
He has been impressive a lot this year (Flacco has been largely terrible), running a complex offensive attack that utilizes both his legs ...
.@TyrodTaylor keeps it!
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
SIX.
The blocked punt turns into a @buffalobills TD! #BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/NV15ummKAN
... and his arm.
.@BuffaloBills retake the lead!@TyrodTaylor tosses it to @justinhunter_11 for the TD. #BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/uhu5keNHLT
— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2016
His throw on third-and-21 late with the game on the line was a flat-out dime.
WOW, Tyrod Taylor.
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) November 8, 2016
LET'S GO. #GoBills#BUFvsSEAhttps://t.co/lK30Ek6lsv
Taylor has been doing it with Ronald Woods as his best wide receiver and had to play much of the game without center Eric Wood, who left with what Rex confirmed was a broken bone in his leg.
Taylor has emerged into one of the more fun quarterbacks to watch in the entire league. It was cool to see him break out in a big way on prime time with the whole world watching against a studly defense.
7. Random statistic
The Bills came out white hot Monday night, knocking the Seahawks on their heels with two early scores. The first score came on a blocked punt that set up the Taylor rush into the end zone.
And when Buffalo scored again, it became the first team in exactly six years to score two first-quarter touchdowns against the Seahawks.
The last team to do so was the New York Giants on Nov. 7, 2010. That means Seattle went an absurd 95 games without allowing two first-quarter touchdowns.
8. What's next?
The Bills are 4-5 after losing their third straight game. Given the four-game winning streak Buffalo ripped off, it's a pretty big dagger to be where they are. They were handled by Miami and New England and go into the bye wondering if they can get back into the AFC playoff race. At 4-5 they have to climb at least one team in their division (the Dolphins) and six total teams for a wild-card berth. The bye is nice but reality is not.
The Seahawks are in great position. At 5-2-1, they are the current No. 2 seed in the NFC and the clear-cut favorite in their division. The Cardinals are the next closest team at 3-4-1. That's big because in six days the Seahawks will square off against the Patriots in New England. Short week and the toughest team in the NFL isn't a very nice reward for squeaking one out at home.