Pennsylvania man seeks injunction, claiming San Diego Chargers shouldn't be in the playoffs
Philip Rivers and the Chargers are headed to the divisional round -- but a Pennsylvania man is trying to stop that. (Andy Lyons, Getty Images / January 5, 2014)
The Baltimore Sun
3:08 p.m. EST, January 8, 2014
The San Diego Chargers completed the biggest upset of the NFL's wild-card round, but one man in Pennsylvania is determined to challenge their viability in the playoffs.
Daniel L. Spuck of Mercer, Pa., has filed a motion against the NFL to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for "a temporary emergency injunction" on the basis that the Chargers should not have been in the postseason because of a missed call in the Week 17 game between San Diego and Kansas City. The filing came before the first round of the playoffs.
Officials in that game failed to call an illegal alignment formation on the Chargers that would have allowed Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop a re-kick of a 41-yard field goal he missed with eight seconds remaining. Had he made the kick, San Diego's loss would have sent the Pittsburgh Steelers to the postseason as the final wild-card team.
Instead, San Diego won in overtime and then beat the favored Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Chargers face the AFC's top-seeded Denver Broncos this Sunday.
In the filing, Spuck suggested some possible remedies for the missed call. The NFL could suspend the playoffs for a week to 10 days, allow Succop to re-kick the field goal, or let the Steelers play the Chargers at a neutral site to determine who plays on.
Online court records, which show that the suit was filed via inmate mail from the Pennsylvania corrections department, say the plaintiff has not submitted a filing fee or requested a waiver.
(the actual document is shown in the actual story if you click the link)
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