Seahawks’ Riq Woolen owns up to boneheaded taunting penalty vs. Rams

The Seattle Seahawks are headed to Super Bowl 60. Seattle punched their ticket to the big game in a gutsy win over LA on Sunday night. But one crucial mistake almost saw Seattle’s chances at making it to the Super Bowl slip away.

Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen owned up to his boneheaded taunting penalty during his postgame remarks.

“Even though I made a great play, I wasn’t great for my team, and I’ve got to be better with that and celebrate with the team,” Woolen said, per the Associated Press.

Woolen’s penalty came during a crucial portion of the third quarter. Seattle was up 31-20 when Woolen nearly intercepted a pass on third down, forcing LA to punt. However, that was never necessary.

Woolen was pumped up after his big play and couldn’t stop himself from celebrating in the direction of the Rams’ bench. The referees called the taunting penalty well after the play ended and it gave the Rams the ball back with a first down.

To make matters worse, Matthew Stafford threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua on the next play. It moved the score to 31-27 and drew plenty of boo’s from the home crowd.

The Seahawks got the ball back and were forced to punt. But Woolen and the rest of Seattle’s defense held on the final drive of the game. That drive ended with a Devon Witherspoon pass breakup in the end zone on fourth down.

Seattle deserves credit for overcoming Woolen’s frustrating penalty in a huge moment. Their quarterback also deserves plenty of praise.

Sam Darnold played a great game against the Rams. He went 25-of-36 for 346 passing yards with three touchdowns. Darnold kept pace with Stafford throughout the game and proved his doubters wrong.

He even received some high praise from his head coach Mike Macdonald after the game.

“You can’t talk about the game without talking about our quarterback,” Macdonald told reporters following the win. “I mean he shut a lot of people up tonight so I’m really happy for him.”

Next up for the Seahawks is a Super Bowl 49 rematch with the Patriots on February 8th.

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