The refereeing in the NFL, which IMHO, never was very good, has gotten surprisingly bad in the last 14 months.
I can be watching a game in which I have no likes/dislikes of and be amazed at how much the refs are controlling the outcome of the game.
But let me leave you with this: The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry. They have teams that they want to see in prime-time and in the playoffs due to the popularity of that team. It creates better revenue for everyone with a financial commitment to the NFL.
Do you think the NFL would take the Cleveland Browns over the Colts this year? That would be a financial disaster for the NFL. The Colts are money makers for the NFL and you can bet your bottom dollar that they are doing everything they can to get the Colts in the SB.