'Shocked!' Seahawks Pete Carroll Reacts to Illegal '12th Man' Play
The Seattle Seahawks are well-known for the phrase "12th Man" ... but outside linebacker Darrell Taylor took that to a new level in Sunday's 40-34 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
On the Raiders' first offensive play, Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs made a diving interception on quarterback Derek Carr's pass attempt.
That part was a regular football play - but what happened next was not.
As Diggs began to stand up and return the interception, Taylor began to block. Only one problem: he wasn't on the field when the play began. Taylor, 25, joined the action mid-play to get a block for his teammate, which, while led by good intentions, is a penalty.
However, the officials didn't notice, making for a crazy, unique story.
The referees weren't the only ones who didn't see it; after all, to the naked eye, Taylor doesn't look out of place. But he was - and not even Seahawks coach Pete Carroll realized what had taken place.
“I didn’t know that happened," Carroll said. "Somebody said something during the game, but I didn’t know that it happened until I saw the film. I was shocked. He thought he was going to stay down, and the play was over. He owned that, he said, ‘I screwed that up.’ He said, ‘I got so excited, I just didn’t know what happened.’ I don’t know what comes back to us on that one.”
Ultimately, it's no harm, no foul for Seattle, and the penalty (or lack thereof) proved not to matter for Las Vegas, as its overtime victory was the big storyline.
However, it's a moment that could've easily backfired for the Seahawks, potentially evening reducing the interception - but in the end, it's merely a teaching moment for Carroll and a fun story for Taylor to tell for years to come.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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