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What the NFL Told the Rams About the Final Minutes of the Broncos' Sunday Night Win
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- What the NFL Told the Rams About the Final Minutes of the Broncos' Sunday Night Win
The flag that kept the Denver Broncos' game-winning drive alive against the Los Angeles Rams should not have been thrown. The NFL admitted as much to Rams coach Sean McVay and the organization this week, according to The Athletic's Jonathan Jones, who wrote that the officials "blew it." McVay said Wednesday that the league had reached out to tell him the call was wrong.
The play came with 1:15 left and Denver trailing 26-23. On third-and-6 from the Los Angeles 11, Bo Nix threw for Pat Bryant, and Rams cornerback Josh Wallace came down with what would have been his second interception of the night. Officials flagged Wallace for pass interference. Nix scored from a yard out with 47 seconds left, and the Broncos won 30-26 after trailing 16-0 at halftime. Talanoa Hufanga intercepted Matthew Stafford in the end zone on the final play.
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Why the call will not become reviewable
Bryant did not hide what happened. "I sold it just a little bit. He did interfere just a little bit," the receiver said afterward . The play has fed a larger debate about receivers selling contact to draw flags. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay also said Wallace should not have been flagged.
None of it changes the result. The Rams are 1-2, and Jones wrote that they should be 2-1. He does not expect the rulebook to change, either. After asking around the league, he sees no viable path for pass interference to become reviewable this offseason. "No," one league executive told him. "We'll never get through a game." The NFL made the call reviewable in 2019 and has no desire to go back.
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The Rams could still try. Jones noted that any team can propose a rule change, and Los Angeles submitted one last year before withdrawing it ahead of a vote. Other ideas raised to him include a lower standard for overturning that one call and a version of an old proposal that would let coaches challenge any call in the final two minutes of a half.
McVay has said he will not play the victim . Denver, meanwhile, takes two straight comeback wins into Sunday's game at the San Francisco 49ers.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Oct 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
