THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016

Chances are, the Seattle Seahawks have played worse games than the one they played on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons.

They seemed to have things going in the right direction, then suddenly they disappeared in the third quarter only to find it again in the final quarter.

Same old sports story, right?

AFTER TAKING a 17-3 lead and slowly down the best offense in the NFL thus far this season, Seattle was outscored 21-0 in the third quarter to fall behind.

And it really should have been worse than that.

Atlanta took it to the Seahawks, in Seattle, something that hasn’t happened in a very long time.

All that being said, Seattle still found a way to win — albeit a very shady way to get it done — to remain on top of the NFC West Division.

But it really didn’t feel like a win.

Driving and attempting to take the lead, Atlanta threw a deep pass on fourth down to Julio Jones, who the Seahawks had a hard time defending the entire second half. That was until Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman grabbed the right arm of Jones, preventing him of bringing in the catch.

The play should have been pass interference, with Atlanta having a shot to kick the game-winning field goal. The officials didn’t see it that way and gave it back to Seattle.

Game over.

But not the complaining from fans and the Falcons, all for good reason.

WITH ALL of the money and cameras on the games in the NFL right now, pass interference should be something that is reviewable.

Some worry that games will drag on, but in the case of Sunday’s incident, it was pretty obvious what had happened after the play was shown on television.

Had the official been given the chance to take a look at the play, the game might have had a different outcome. Instead, it has been something that continues to get replayed on television and discussed.

With most games in the NFL lasting up to three hours, I’m sure no fan could complain if the game finished a few minutes longer if it meant getting the calls right.

Last Friday night, with all the scoring plays between the Coeur d’Alene Vikings and Lake City Timberwolves, the high school football game lasted three hours as well.

Between the scoring plays and incomplete passes — and there was a few — the game didn’t wind up finishing until 10:05 p.m.

Most others in the area wrapped up well before then on Friday night, the second week of league play for most teams in this area.

As teams continue to fight for postseason berths this week, hopefully things will go smoothly.

With the group of officials we’ve got around this area, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.