To prevent things from tumbling too far down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole, it is important to keep a level head about officiating. But there are also times when we can call a spade a spade, and this is one of those times.
I have done this column for about a month now, and two of the upsets I have covered were driven by massive penalty swings in favor of the home team. This week, New Orleans managed to accrue two penalties for 10 yards, while Seattle managed 11 for 76. You don't have to reach far with a Seahawks fanbase that grew up during Super Bowl XL to find complaints about the officiating, obviously.