Lions' Dominic Raiola Says He Went Low Because Patriots Ran Up Score

Dominic Raiola went at Patriots defensive lineman Zach Moore's legs as the Lions knelt the ball on the final play of the game. The Lions center was mad, because to him, the Patriots poured on points when they could have ended the game.

Raiola explained his logic after the game. From the Detroit Free Press:

"I cut him," Raiola said. "We took a knee, so I cut the nose (tackle). They went for six (a touchdown). They went for a touchdown at 2 minutes. They could have took three knees and the game could have been over. It's football. He wants to keep playing football, let's play football. Not a big deal. It's football."

The Patriots went for a touchdown because they were on the one-yard line, and got to the one-yard line because as they attempted a field goal, Lions linebacker C.J. Mosley jumped into long snapper Danny Aiken, drawing a penalty and giving New England an automatic first down. Raiola's correct that the Patriots still could have kneeled it three times, since Detroit had no timeouts, but the Patriots kept "playing football" because the Lions were "playing football." So, yes, this spat is very, very stupid.

[ Detroit Free Press]