The Los Angeles Rams had nothing to play for in Week 18 when they visited the Seattle Seahawks, but their rivals did. Seattle needed a win in order to keep its playoff hopes alive, with a loss ending any hope of making the postseason.
The Seahawks edged out the Rams in overtime and made the playoffs thanks to a Lions win, but it wasn’t without controversy. There were several questionable calls made by officials in that game, all of which benefitted the Seahawks. Rams and Lions fans were frustrated by the officiating, and it turns out they weren’t alone.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, “multiple executives and coaches said the NFL needs to reevaluate how it chooses and trains its officiating staff for future seasons” after seeing the controversial calls in the Rams-Seahawks contest last week.
Those same executives and coaches said game officials and the league missed multiple calls that helped key the Seahawks’ overtime victory over the Rams that sent Seattle to Saturday’s wild-card round and prevented the Detroit Lions from reaching the playoffs.
Even the NFL’s competition committee is aware of what one source described to ESPN “as the worst officiated game of the year.”
The most controversial calls all came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Jonah Williams was called for running into the kicker, giving the Seahawks a free first down in the fourth quarter, which led to a game-tying field goal. Williams was clearly shoved into the punter, which should not have been a penalty.
Jalen Ramsey was also called for unnecessary roughness when Geno Smith ran into him along the sideline after a long run in the fourth quarter, despite Ramsey simply standing his ground. After the play, DK Metcalf stuck his fingers in Ramsey’s facemask but was not penalized.
Then in overtime, Quandre Diggs picked off Baker Mayfield and taunted Bobby Wagner on the sidelines while running out of bounds, but no flag was thrown. The Seahawks turned that pick into a game-winning drive.
