I didn't care who won that game last night but I did think the roughing the kicker and knee snapped "fumble" were pretty lame.
The "fumble" was pretty lame. Bowman (the 49er) stripped the ball from the Seahawk, and fell to the ground while maintaining possession. That should have been that. But I can see how it might have been missed and it's unfortunate that it's not subject to replay, because it could have been called correctly. Justice was served when Seattle fumbled on the next play.
OTOH, the roughing the kicker being called as "running into the kicker" was inexcusable. Here's the rule direct from the rulebook:
Quote
Item 1: Roughing the kicker. It is a foul for roughing the kicker if a defensive player: (a) contacts the plant leg of the kicker while his kicking leg is still in the air....
Note: When in doubt, it is a foul for roughing the kicker. 2013 NFL rule book, Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10
There was no question whatsoever that the kicker was hit on the plant leg while his kicking leg was still in the air. There is no way this should have been called "running into". The official must have simply forgotten the rule and that's just unforgivable. Worst call I've ever seen in the NFL.
Moral of the story: If you don't want to risk having the game turn on a blown call or a fluke play, build at least a two touchdown lead.
