Feb. 22, 2026, 10:30 a.m. PT
The most important game of the 2025 regular season was the Week 16 primetime showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams. The outcome of the game altered the course of destiny for both teams, the playoff picture, and the NFL as a whole. Seattle jumped into first place in the NFC West, eventually winning the division and NFC, on their way to a world championship in Super Bowl LX.
Seattle’s comeback over the Rams was fueled by the most improbable 2-point conversion play of all time. What was originally deemed an incomplete pass was later ruled a lateral, and the contact with LA pass rusher Jared Verse made it so Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet could recover the ball for the conversion. Now, in the case of the sourest grapes to ever exist, the Rams plan to make a rule change this offseason that would make sure such a play would never happen again.
According to a report by CBS Sports:
The Rams plan to propose at least one rule change this offseason, sources say, and there may be a second proposal aimed at certain details around that play. Teams regularly submit rules proposals toward the start of the new league year, and many of those proposals come in around the time of next week’s NFL Scouting Combine. While the language remains unclear, one source with knowledge of the proposal(s) said the Rams’ goal is to “fix what went wrong in a few places.”
I’m really not sure what it is the Rams are trying to accomplish here. When watching the replay, it is clear as day that Sam Darnold’s pass traveled backwards, therefore making it a lateral to Zach Charbonnet. Additionally, the fact the referees blew the whistle meant literally nothing. According to league rules expert Terry McAuley, “When a backward pass is ruled forward and incomplete, Replay can reverse if there is a clear recovery in the immediate continuing action. The recovering team is awarded the ball at the spot of recovery. Let me make this perfectly clear: whether a whistle is blown or not is completely irrelevant.”
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If anything, Charbonnet’s immediate instincts to grab the ball in the end zone is a testament to the head’s up mentality Seattle’s coaches have instilled in their players. Perhaps that is something Rams head coach Sean McVay should be focusing on this offseason, instead of complaining about a correct call.
Oh yeah, about Sean McVay. After the Week 16 showdown, McVay said during the postgame press conference “I’m not making excuses. We don’t do that. I don’t believe in that. It doesn’t move us forward.”
So, he won’t “make excuses” but he will attempt to alter the NFL rules to fit your needs? For a team that is the beneficiary of more calls their way than not, the Rams sure struggle to find acceptance when things don’t go their way… especially when (and I cannot stress this enough) they are quite literally the right call.
In order for the Rams to change the rules (whatever it may be) they will need the support of at least 24 out of the 32 teams to do so.