The Seattle Seahawks missed what would have been a huge interception late in the third quarter of the NFC championship game Sunday night at Lumen Field. But the stop still set up a long fourth down that should have given them the ball back with an 11-point lead against the Los Angeles Rams.
At least, that’s what it looked like until Riq Woolen got hit with an awfully-timed taunting penalty.
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Woolen was seen jeering at the Rams’ sideline after the play, celebrating the pass breakup that occurred moments before. While it’s unclear what he actually said, it was enough for officials to hit him with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.
And, as it was a fourth-and-12, that gave the Rams a new set of downs.
Matthew Stafford took full advantage. He immediately found Puka Nacua for a 34-yard touchdown pass up the left side of the field on the next play — against Woolen.
Just like that, Woolen’s taunting penalty ended up cutting the game back to just four points.
While the taunting penalty itself can be debated, especially since it’s not known what Woolen said on the field in the moment, Woolen shouldn’t have put himself in a situation to even be penalized — especially considering a spot in the Super Bowl was on the line.
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Some of Woolen’s teammates felt exactly that way on the sideline themselves.
Thankfully for Woolen, it didn’t cost the Seahawks the game. Seattle carried a four-point lead into the final period and then held on to grab the 31-27 win. That sent the Seahawks into their first Super Bowl since the 2014 season. They’ll take on the New England Patriots in the game next month in Santa Clara, California.
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