PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh Steelers fan imprisoned for murder has sued the National Football League and wants a federal judge to delay the remainder of the playoffs so the Steelers can have another chance to qualify for them.

The Steelers were denied a sixth and final playoff seed in the AFC when the San Diego Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24, in overtime in their final regular season game.

The Dec. 29th game went into overtime after Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop missed a last-second 41-yard field goal try that would have won the game. The NFL has since acknowledged San Diego should have been penalized for lining up too many players on one side of Kansas City’s center, meaning Succop should have gotten another chance to kick from 5 yards closer.

Daniel Spuck, 45, who’s serving an 11 to 22 year sentence for third-degree murder, filed a handprinted federal lawsuit on Jan. 2, against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Spuck argues that the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs “because the defendants through their employees (game official and instant replay booth) were negligent and fraudulent when they missed an illegal alignment by the Chargers ...”

Among other things, Spuck’s complaint seeks a court order to have the playoffs delayed for seven to 10 days to allow time for a rekick by Succop, a coin toss, or a neutral site game between Pittsburgh and San Diego to determine a sixth seed in the AFC playoffs.

The NFL isn’t commenting on the lawsuit. and, so far, federal judges in Pittsburgh have not scheduled a hearing on it.