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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay looks on against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Los Angeles Rams had a 97% chance at victory against the Seattle Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 16, per Next Gen Stats. And yet, Rams head coach Sean McVay’s group emerged on the wrong side following an interesting turn of events.
After the game, McVay took to the podium. He made it clear that he needed more information from the NFL after what happened.
At any rate, the loss was quite costly for McVay and the Rams.
Rams HC Sean McVay Calls Out 2-Pt Conversion Ruling
GettyLos Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay looks on before a game against the Baltimore Ravens.
In the fourth quarter, with McVay’s Rams leading the Seahawks 30-22, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold found tight end AJ Barner for a touchdown.
On the ensuing 2-point conversion try, Darnold seemingly threw an incomplete pass. However, upon further review, as the Rams lined up to receive the kickoff, officials overturned their initial ruling, determining that Darnold threw a backward pass.
Rams outside linebacker Byron Young deflected it. Kam Curl had a chance to intercept it.
Instead, Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet picked it up before it stopped rolling around. His quick action created a critical part of the play: an obvious recovery.
“I’ve never quite seen anything like what happened on the 2-point conversion, where you’re lined up to kick off, then they say it’s a fumble because they had the clear and obvious recovery. Now, you tack it on, you make it a 30-30 game. Very interesting. Didn’t get clear explanation of everything that went on, just because of some of the timing of it,” McVay said during his postgame press conference.
“I’ve never seen anything–or never been a part of–anything like that, and I’ve grown up around this game. I’m not making excuses. We don’t do that. I don’t believe in that. It doesn’t move us forward. But we do want clarity and an understanding of the things that we can do to minimize that when we rejected the 2-point conversion.”
The Rams had opportunities to put the game away, but failed to do so. They ended up with a disappointing loss of historic proportions.
In-Game Rules Analyst Called Out Game-Changing Play
GettyLos Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay looks on against the Baltimore Ravens.
Unfortunately for McVay and the Rams, broadcast rules analyst Terry McAulay spotted the potential momentum-shifter before the play was officially reviewed.
“If it’s backward, then this recovery in the clear and continuing action in the end zone would be a good 2-point conversion for Seattle,” McAulay told Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit during the contest.
“It’s from the point of release to the point it’s touched by the defensive player.”
In total, there were three 2-point conversion attempts. They were all by the Seahawks and all converted. That includes the game-winner that went to another tight end, Eric Saubert.
Rams Let Opportunity Slip
GettyLos Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay reacts against the Carolina Panthers.
McVay and the Rams knew the stakes heading into this contest, but social media was inundated with reminders.
The Rams dropped from first place in the NFC and NFC West to fifth in the conference and second in the division. They risk falling into third place in the NFC West. That is, if the San Francisco 49ers win one more game than the Rams the rest of the way.
Moreover, the loss was historic for LA.
“Since 1975, teams with 400+ yards, 0 giveaways, 0 sacks taken, 3+ takeaways were 79-0 prior to tonight,” NFL senior researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming posted. “They are now 79-1.”
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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