What Riq Woolen Said About His Poorly Timed Taunting Penalty

It didn't matter in the end, but Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen made things a lot more interesting with a brutal taunting penalty in their 31-27 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game.

Leading 31-20 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Woolen broke up a 3rd and 12 pass intended for Puka Nacua. The Rams were preparing to punt the ball back to the Seahawks with a chance to go up three scores.

But Woolen chirped a little too long at the Los Angeles bench, and he was flagged for a 15-yard penalty that also resulted in an automatic first down for the Rams.

Matthew Stafford threw a 34-yard bomb to Nacua in the end zone on the next play. Nacua burned Woolen on the play in one of the worst two-play stretches of the fourth-year corner's career.

No cap high intense game and when you in the zone and ballin with your bros sometimes you black out 😂
— Tariq Woolen (@_Tariqwoolen) January 26, 2026

Woolen apologized on social media after the game for hurting the team's chances of getting to a comfortable win. Instead of keeping the Rams at arm's length, Stafford had one more chance at the very end to win the game for Los Angeles.

A tense moment between Woolen and rookie Nick Emmanwori on the sideline was captured after the play. It was the first time all season that some cracks showed in the defense's unity.

However, Emmanwori and Woolen explained that away after the game as well.

The Brotherhood is real, real connections other teams don't have 🤞🏾
— Nick Emmanwori (@Eman7Nick) January 26, 2026

If the Seahawks want to ensure a Super Bowl LX win, the defense will need to play much better than it did against the Rams. It's worth noting, however, that Rams coach Sean McVay and Stafford have been notoriously good at picking apart Mike Macdonald's scheme.

Seattle has played eight games since Week 13, with two against the Rams. In the six games against other opponents, the Seahawks' defense has allowed just 44 total points. Los Angeles has scored 64 points against Seattle in the last two meetings, including the NFC Championship.

That offers some reprieve, but the Seahawks still haven't played the New England Patriots this season, and they have two weeks to prepare. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will absolutely be studying the ways the Rams had so much success against the Seattle defense all year.

Macdonald will likely be focusing on getting Seattle's overall penalty numbers down, also, after committing six fouls against Los Angeles. That makes it much harder to win.

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