09/29/26 05:02:00
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09/29 05:00 CDT A late flag, a wiped out interception and Pat Bryant's blunt
admission after Broncos-Rams thriller
A late flag, a wiped out interception and Pat Bryant's blunt admission after
Broncos-Rams thriller
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
DENVER (AP) --- Pat Bryant 's acting skills could put a blush on the faces of
Neymar, Rivaldo and Arjen Robben, the most famous divers in World Cup soccer
history due to their theatrical embellishments.
And they stand up to the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James and
James Harden, widely considered among the NBA's most notorious and frequent
floppers.
Bryant admittedly embellished the contact on a defensive pass interference call
on Josh Wallace that negated an interception by the Rams quarterback with just
over a minute remaining, paving the way for Bo Nix's reach-over-the-scrum
touchdown that sent the Denver Broncos to a 30-26 win over Los Angeles on
Sunday night.
"I sold it just a little bit," Bryant said.
Such theatrics are more talent than skill, more spur of the moment than
rehearsed and honed, suggested Broncos coach Sean Payton, who has his own
history with debatable decisions by the officials when it comes to the Rams.
"We're not at that soccer level yet, because we saw that for a summer," Payton
said with a chuckle Monday. "I think it's probably south of where the NBA is. I
think there's nothing that anyone works on. If they're trying to catch a pass
or... it's not something that's practiced. I don't know other than (Bryant's)
natural reaction, outside of that, there's really nothing we look at."
Replays showed some pushing and grabbing between Bryant and Wallace as they ran
from left to right toward the sideline on third-and-6 from the L.A. 11 with
1:15 remaining and the Broncos trailing 26-23.
"He did interfere just a little bit," insisted Bryant, who appeared to be
thrown off-balance from Wallace's quick shove into his back and grab at his
waist as they strode toward the sideline. "I did what I had to do to get the
ball."
Bryant garnished the contact, throwing his head back as the two tumbled toward
the sideline and Wallace somehow cradled Nix's pass as they fell out of bounds.
It would have been Wallace's second interception of the game, but he was
whistled for defensive pass interference in the most debated call of Week 3 in
the NFL along with Nate Wiggins' DPI call on CeeDee Lamb in the closing seconds
of the Ravens-Cowboys thriller in Rio de Janeiro.
As the officials spotted the ball at the 7 with a first down, the NBC broadcast
team of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth brought in rules analysis Terry
McAulay.
"As we get toward the end, we actually see the receiver grab the defender and
pull him into him," McAulay said. "I don't see the defender do anything that
significantly hinders the receiver on this play."
Pass interference calls aren't reviewable, so the Broncos and Bryant maybe got
away with one. Or maybe the officials got it right. McAulay never addressed
Wallace's shove to Bryant's back that knocked him off-balance, allowing him to
pick off the pass.
Three plays later, Quentin Lake was flagged for illegal use of the hands on
third down, giving the Broncos a first down at the 2. And the Rams, who
committed a whopping 13 penalties to Denver's five, weren't done. Kobie Turner
was whistled for encroachment with the ball inside the 1. That moved the ball
inches closer to the goal line, setting up Nix's reach-in touchdown that put
Denver ahead 30-26 with 47 seconds left.
The Broncos survived Matthew Stafford's last-gasp drive when safety Talanoa
Hufanga intercepted him in the end zone as time expired for his second pick of
the night.
With NFL fans and analysts suggesting the Rams were robbed, L.A. coach Sean
McVay declined to join the fray.
"I'm not going to play the victim card," he said Monday. "It doesn't really
matter. It is what it is. That was the call that was made."
Some suggested this was comeuppance for McVay and the Rams, who got away with a
blatant pass interference call in the NFC championship in 2018 that kept
Payton's New Orleans Saints out of the Super Bowl.
"Well, Coach Payton finally got his P.I. call!" former Rams star Andrew
Whitworth posted on X. "I say we call it even."
Not so fast.
"Well this is years later, so a completely different game, different players,"
Payton said Monday. "... The longer you get in this thing, the less you discuss
penalties. You just got to go out and play. I've yet to see one get changed
either way. You hope that when the game's over with, the season's over with,
you're on the positive side of the ledger."
And that any calls or non-calls didn't curtail championship dreams.
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With contributions from AP Sports Writer Pat Graham.
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See AP's full NFL coverage here
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