The Rams led the Broncos 26-23 in Denver with just over a minute left on Sunday night. On third-and-6, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw toward receiver Pat Bryant on the sideline, and Rams cornerback Josh Wallace caught it. Officials flagged Wallace for pass interference. The flag wiped out the interception and gave Denver a fresh set of downs. Nix scored on a quarterback sneak with 47 seconds left, and the Broncos won 30-26. After the game, Bryant said he "sold it just a little bit." Referee Bill Vinovich ran the crew. He also refereed the Rams' January 2019 NFC Championship win over the New Orleans Saints. In that game, his crew missed a famous pass interference call. Broncos coach Sean Payton coached those Saints.

1. The Critics: Bryant Flopped, and the Flag Was Wrong

Critics say replays show the receiver pulling the defender, so the flag should never have come out.

Replays show the receiver doing the grabbing. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said so on the broadcast. "We actually see the receiver grab the defender," he said. "I don't see the defender do anything that significantly hinders the receiver on this play."

The fall looked worse than the contact. The Associated Press described what the cameras caught. Bryant "extended his right arm into the shoulder of Wallace and then threw his head back." Yahoo Sports columnist Frank Schwab wrote that Bryant "pulled Wallace into him, then threw up his hand and flopped down."

The acting was obvious even to the Colorado press. Paul Klee of the Denver Gazette credited Bryant with an "impressive acting job" that drew "a sketchy pass interference penalty."

2. Bryant: Wallace Interfered a Little, and I Sold It

The receiver says Wallace did interfere, and that selling it is part of winning.

The contact was real, just small. "He did interfere just a little bit," Bryant said of Wallace. "I did what I had to do to get the ball."

Selling the contact is part of winning. "A little pass interference. I sold it just a little bit," Bryant said. He added, "At the end of the day, you've got to do what you've got to do." Bryant is a second-year receiver. He had already caught a touchdown and a two-point conversion that night.

There was some contact to flag. CBS Sports wrote that the officials seemed to flag Wallace because "he had one hand on Bryant while the ball was in the air." CBS said a closer look at that reading shows "a gray area." It questioned whether the contact was forceful enough to matter. It also said Bryant grabbed Wallace's shoulder at the same time.

3. The Rams: Complaining About the Call Won't Help

Rams players took the high road. A Denver columnist says the calls leaned Denver's way but weren't gifts.

Blaming the referee won't change the score. "The ref called what he called and you can't do nothing about that now," Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald said. "Woulda, shoulda, coulda. It is what it is." Rams safety Quentin Lake said, "The rules are the rules. Can't be too handsy."

The Rams' own penalties piled up. Los Angeles led 16-0 at halftime. The Rams drew 13 penalties for 91 yards. Denver drew five. "We had some penalties that took us backwards in some tough spots," Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said.

The play looked fair to the coach, and he still didn't complain. Rams coach Sean McVay said it "looked like it was a good competitive play from my vantage point," and that he'd look at the tape. At the podium, he said, "This is sports. You sign up for all of it."

The calls leaned Denver's way without being gifts. Denver Post columnist Troy Renck wrote, "The Broncos got a few calls. Not gifts. But definitely a friendly lean."

4. Replay Should Be Able to Fix This

Some analysts say the league should let video overturn an obvious flop.

Replay should catch a flop this plain. Diante Lee, who covers the NFL for The Ringer, called it "an unabashed flop." He wrote that he feels "a little hollow when obvious plays like this can't be corrected upon review."

Pinning the loss on the Rams' own mistakes lets the officials off the hook. Blaine Grisak of Rams On SI wrote that the Rams "didn't lose by one call, but the call certainly had an impact on the game." He also wrote that saying a team "didn't lose because of one call" has become "such a cop-out for the officials." He said "there needs to be some accountability." He wrote that it's "odd that penalties like this can't be reviewed with the help of replay assist."

This isn't the first missed call in a McVay-Payton game. After the 2019 no-call, the NFL admitted its officials got it wrong. The next season, it let coaches challenge pass interference on replay. The league dropped that rule after one year. Grisak wrote that Vinovich "finally got his make-up call" with Payton and McVay back on the sidelines.

Where This Lands

Bryant admits he sold the contact. McAulay says Wallace never did enough to draw a flag. Rams players won't blame the call, even after blowing a 16-0 lead. Lee and Grisak want replay to be able to fix a flop like this. Denver is 2-1, and the Rams are 1-2.

Sources