SEATTLE — On any given Sunday.
In some ways, that’s the only to describe what has been called the worst NFL play ever. With the game tied and no time left on the clock in Las Vegas, the Patriots attempted to lateral the ball all the way down the field for a touchdown against the Raiders. Instead, their second lateral, in what they hoped would be a fantastic sequence, was picked off by Chandler Jones and returned 48 yards for the Raiders' game-winning touchdown.
Unbelievable.
Almost as unbelievable as the Vikings setting an NFL record the day before by rallying from 33 points down to beat the Colts.
The NFL remains king, thanks in part to its jesters.
As NFL fans, this is what we want. Improbable finishes during the final weeks of the season with most of the 32 teams still in playoff contention.
One of those teams is the Seattle Seahawks who have struggled mightily as of late.
The Hawks have lost four of their last five games, and if not for a last-second touchdown in Los Angeles, they would be tumbling through a five-game losing streak.
It's clear the Seahawks are not among the NFL's elite. No one expected inclusion in that club this season.
But after a 6-3 start, it was reasonable to expect the Seahawks to earn one of the seven NFC playoff spots.
Ask Lions fans if they had similar expectations when their team started 1-6.
They're a loyal bunch in Detroit but rest assured visions of the postseason were not dancing in their heads.
Those same Lions went on a tear and now share the same 7-7 record as the Seahawks.
Fortunately, for the Hawks they own the tiebreaker, courtesy of a win over the Lions back in October.
So, as we sit here with three games left in the season, the Seahawks are hanging around, just a half-game behind Washington for the final playoff spot.
They remain in the hunt and on any given Sunday, or as is the case this weekend, Saturday, maybe the Seahawks will take their turn at the improbable and knock off the Chiefs who share the best record in the AFC.
Sure, it may take a movie-like ending, complete with one of the most quoted lines in cinematic history from a man who was denied an Oscar nod from the Academy.
He wasn't a coach, but he was a player - at least in his own mind.
I'm talking about the one and only Jim Carrey in his critically acclaimed role as Lloyd Christmas in the movie, Dumb And Dumber.
He uttered a phrase many of us have repeated for years, including Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
"So, you're telling me there's a chance."
Christmas is a time for miracles.
The Vikings got theirs and the Raiders got theirs. Maybe there's one under the tree for the Seahawks.