One for the History Books

You have to give the Chargers credit. Even when they lose -- which is often -- they manage to do something that's never been done.

In the 12,837-game history of the National Football League, there had never been a game that ended with a score of 11-10 -- until Sunday.

The Bolts and Steelers slugged it out in a defensive battle on a cold, snowy evening in Pittsburgh, and Jeff Reed's 32-yard field goal with 11 seconds left gave the Steelers the first 11-10 victory in the illustrious history of the NFL.

But before this 11-10 game could get its official stamp in the league history book, there was some drama at the end.

On the final play of the game, the Chargers tried to lateral the ball to keep the play alive, but Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu picked up the loose ball and scampered in 12 yards for an apparent touchdown that would've wiped out the historical implications of the preceding three hours.

What ensued was an almost comical lengthy delay, as the play was under review upstairs. Players for both teams stood around, not sure what do -- since the review would have no bearing on who won or lost. The game clock read 0:00, and the review was only to determine whether the lateral was legal, thus, whether Polamalu's TD would count.

Of course, the only people who were really sweating out the review were the wiseguys in Vegas. With the Steelers being 5-point favorites, the review ruling would determine who gets the money.

After an eternity, the officials finally decided that the "lateral" was an illegal forward pass by the Chargers, so the play was ruled dead and Polamalu's touchdown was wiped off the board.

And history scholars everywhere let out a huge sigh of relief, as the league's only 11-10 final score became official. 

After the game, however, referee Scott Green told reporters that the officials later realized Polamalu's touchdown should have counted. So, uh, about those wiseguys in Vegas ... perhaps on Monday, Mike Pereira, NFL vice president of officiating, will be getting some calls from the 702 area code.

If you're a Charger fan, you know they had plenty of opportunities to win this game. The Steelers did their part to cooperate, committing 13 penalties for 115 yards -- their most flags in seven years. However, it wasn't enough as the Bolts still have never won a regular-season game in Pittsburgh, falling to 0-13.

But in the end, you have to tip your cap to the San Diego Chargers. Congratulations, guys, for being part of a game that they'll still be talking about a hundred years from now.