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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 an opportunity to put the game out of reach.
But Woolen gagged on the Rams bench as he backed away 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 one play later to cut the lead to one possession.
Woolen shouted to his teammates on the sideline after the Rams’ touchdown and was the focus of huge 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 on the sidelines.
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“No more mocking penalties,” he wrote in a post.
“Didn’t get pressured. We brothers and we all chase greatness, we on the same mission,” he wrote in another, in response to a user who accused him of being “pressured.”
While the Woolen penalty made the game much closer than it might 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 in 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 won the NFC title as time ran out in 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 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 take on New England Patriots in Santa Clara, California, on February 8. The previous Super Bowl between these two teams is considered one of the best ever. New England sealed the win in the final seconds with a Malcolm Butler interception Russell Wilson at the finish line.
