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Seattle Seahawks defensive back Tariq Woolen was fined $17,398 Saturday for a taunting penalty during the NFC championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Woolen’s penalty came at a critical point with less than three minutes in the third quarter. After the Seahawks stopped the Rams on third down with an 11-point lead, it appeared Seattle would get an opportunity to put the game out of reach.
But Woolen jawed at the Rams bench while backpedaling with his hands behind his back after the play.
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So, instead of forcing a punt back to the Seattle offense, the penalty gave the Rams an automatic first down. LA scored just a 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 backlash he faced, appearing to offer an apology in meme form, while also praising the connection with his teammates amid the sideline altercation.
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“No more taunting penalties,” he wrote in one post.
“Wasn’t getting pressed. We brothers and we all chasing greatness we on the same mission,” he wrote in another, in response to a user who accused him of getting “pressed.”
While the Woolen penalty made the game much closer than it could have been in the fourth quarter, Seattle’s defense held on to secure the win, 31-27, to advance to the Super Bowl.
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of a divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers 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 remaining. Seattle eventually clinched the NFC title when time ran out on Los Angeles after Puka Nacua’s 21-yard grab to try and set the Rams up 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 Jan. 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 take on the New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California, Feb. 8. The previous Super Bowl between those two teams is regarded as one of the best ever. New England sealed the victory in the final seconds with a Malcolm Butler interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line.
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