Good news for those of you suffering full-on Deflategate fatigue: Here's a story about something other than under-inflated balls.
But it's bad news for those of you who don't want to hear about more Patriots shenanigans during their run to the Super Bowl. Either way, you've been warned.
The latest, via Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio: Remember that 16-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to left tackle Nate Solder in the AFC Championship Game beatdown over the Colts? Yeah, that shouldn't have counted.
"The play before the Nate Solder touchdown, No. 71 (Cameron Fleming) declared himself as an eligible receiver," Kirwan said. "The next play, he stays in the game, which is now where the rule is going to be stressed and probably broken ... and he became an ineligible receiver. He had to leave the game."
"He's supposed to leave the game," Miller added.
"He didn't leave the game and No. 77 [Solder] became eligible, which automatically made No. 71 ineligible, but he had to leave the game," Kirwan continued. "They let the play move on and it was a touchdown. So the officials under our understanding of the rules -- and we've been reading the rules all morning -- it appears that [New England] got away with one. And touché to the Patriots for scoring the touchdown."
Later in the segment, Miller read the rule in question from the rule book: "If the player has been withdrawn for one legal snap, a player withdrawn for one legal snap may re-enter at a position indicated by the eligibility status of his number, unless he again reports to the referee that he is assuming a position other than designated by the eligibility status of his number."
No word from the league on whether the officials missed this call. But unlike the Lions-Cowboys debacle, the Patriots still would have eked out a win over the Colts even without Solder's touchdown reception. (The final was 45-7.)
Of course, that brings us back to Deflategate. And if you're dying to hear more about that, you're in luck:
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