Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner attributed his controversial blocked field goal to his undeniable athletic abilities. But, the flag that was taken back at the time of the play against the Vikings on Dec. 10 should have been enforced.
The NFL's vice president of officiating Al Riveron admitted Friday that Wagner should have been called for a penalty.
“In this case, this is a foul,” Riveron said in his weekly video. “He’s gonna put both hands on a teammate and he’s going to use his teammates to leverage himself to get to the other side. If you use your teammates and/or an opponent to help you to get to the other side to help you block a kick, that is a foul.”
Bobby Wagner is an ATHLETE 😱 @Bwagz pic.twitter.com/JA8XwP6CPU
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 11, 2018
Riveron did not go into detail as to why the officials ended up not enforcing a penalty, but the referee who initially threw the flag reportedly did so for a different but related infraction, according to a ProFootballTalk report. However, during the game another official overruled the umpire, saying Wagner was on the line of scrimmage when he jumped, which made it legal.
If the penalty had been enforced, the Vikings would have moved to the Seahawks’ 14-yard line with a fresh set of downs trailing 6-0 with just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota went on to lose 21-7.