I wrote this week about how NFL outcomes are becoming increasingly arbitrary, and tonight's game made the case better than I ever could. The Lions had the game won - the Packers were in a lateral drill, and Aaron Rodgers was the last man to catch it with no one behind him. Either Rodgers was running the entire 70 yards through 11 defenders, or the game was over. Unless, of course, the defender grazed his facemask while throwing him down by his shoulder. Even so, it took Jim Caldwell not properly defending against a Hail Mary (where was Calvin Johnson?) because he defended against another lateral play instead.

And lest you think the facemask call was legitimate (as announcers Phil Simms and special guest, Mike Carey, wrongly alleged during the broadcast), here's the actual rule:

GRASPING FACEMASK

Article 5
No player shall twist, turn, or pull the facemask of an opponent in any direction.
Penalty: For twisting, turning, or pulling the mask: Loss of 15 yards. A personal foul. The player may
be disqualified if the action is judged by the official(s) to be of a flagrant nature.

A.R. 12.12
Third-and-10 on A30. Runner A1 runs to the A33, where he is tackled by B1, who incidentally grasps A1's
facemask on the tackle, but it is not a twist, turn, or pull.

Ruling:
A's ball, fourth-and-seven, on A33. No Foul.

So the Lions had the game won, but for a bad penalty call, a defensive lapse by the Lions' coach and, of course, an amazing throw by Aaron Rodgers.

•  I wondered on Twitter why Eddie Lacy wasn't out for the second half, and at first I heard he was hurt, but it later turned out Mike McCarthy channeled Mike Pettine and benched him for something that happened during the practice week. Apparently, Simms and Jim Nantz were privy to it Wednesday night, but never bothered to pass the information along, and many, including me, used Lacy in our lineups. I don't know what to make of this going forward, but Lacy's stock obviously has to drop, James Starks' has to rise and someone named John Crockett has to be added to the bottom of our cheat sheets.

• For those like me who had the Lions plus-three, that was a bad beat, but I'm sure there were people who parlayed the Lions and the under, so it could always be worse. And it's still not as bad as when I had the Browns plus 5.5 in this game.

• Aaron Rodgers looked like he was headed for a bad fantasy night, but the Hail Mary and the long touchdown scamper salvaged things in short order.

• Richard Rodgers had a monster game, thanks to the Hail Mary, but he also drew a big PI call when the Packers were backed up in their own end, and caught every other pass thrown his way. Given the team's lack of reliable targets, Rodgers might be the team's No. 2 option after Randall Cobb at this point.

• The Lions offense looked great in the first quarter and mostly stalled afterwards. Matthew Stafford missed Calvin Johnson on a would-be second TD - he just didn't get enough air under the ball and overthrew him.

• Golden Tate looked like the player who caught 99 passes last year.