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Seattle Seahawks defensive back Tariq Woolen was fined $17,398 on Saturday for a taunting penalty during the NFC championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Woolen’s penalty came at a critical time with less than three minutes left in the third quarter. After the Seahawks stopped the Rams on third down with an 11-point lead, it looked like Seattle would have a chance to put the game out of reach.
But Woolen gaped at the Rams bench as he retreated with his hands behind his back after the play.
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So instead of forcing a punt back to Seattle’s offense, the penalty gave the Rams an automatic first down. LA scored just one play later to cut the lead to one possession.
Woolen yelled at his teammates on the sideline after the Rams’ touchdown and was the focus of immense criticism on social media.
After the game, Woolen took to social media to address the situation and the reaction he faced, appearing to offer an apology in meme form, while also praising his connection with his teammates amid the altercation on the sideline.
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“No more penalties for mockery,” he wrote in a post.
“I wasn’t being pressured. We brothers and everyone chasing greatness have the same mission,” he wrote in another, in response to a user who accused him of being “pressured.”
While Woolen’s penalty made the game much closer than it could have been in the fourth quarter, Seattle’s defense held on to secure the victory, 31-27, to advance to the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of a divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 17, 2026 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
The Seahawks put the game away thanks to a fourth-down stop with less than five minutes left. Seattle finally clinched the NFC title when time ran out in Los Angeles after Puka Nacua’s 21-yard grab to try to set up the Rams for a Hail Mary attempt.
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Riq Woolen of the Seattle Seahawks reacts after winning an NFL divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lumen Field on January 17, 2026 in Seattle. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
This year’s Super Bowl is a rematch of the Seahawks’ last Super Bowl appearance in 2015. They face the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California, on February 8. The previous Super Bowl between those two teams is considered one of the best in history. New England sealed the victory in the final seconds with a Malcolm Butler interception Russell Wilson on the goal line.
