Sunday Night Football took a hard turn in the second half, and the play everyone will be talking about came with a flag.
The Rams had built a 16-point lead, but Denver clawed all the way back to make things messy late. After the Broncos and Rams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns - including a pick-six off Matthew Stafford - Denver suddenly had a shot to either tie the game or take the lead.
For a moment, it looked like Josh Wallace had shut the door.
Wallace stepped in front of Bo Nix and appeared to come away with his second interception of the night. Instead, the takeaway never counted. A defensive pass interference flag wiped it away and sent the Broncos back to the 7-yard line with a fresh set of downs.
Josh Wallace Was Called For Defensive Pass Interference On This Play.
He Ended Up Picking This Ball Off, So It Turned Into A HUGE Play. I Don’t Know, Man… This One Is CLOSE. 👀 pic.twitter.com/DRYEAm8cYN
- SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) September 28, 2026
The call had plenty of people grinding their teeth. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay saw it as little more than hand-fighting between Wallace and Broncos receiver Pat Bryant, while others on social media argued Bryant was the one who got hold of Wallace. Replay made Wallace’s interception look real enough, but the flag erased it from the ledger.
And even if the ball hadn’t been picked, a clean breakup likely would have pushed Denver into a field goal try.
The sequence also dragged up memories of the infamous non-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman in the 2018 NFC championship game, a moment that ties back to the same coaches involved here: Sean Payton and Sean McVay.
This time, the break went Payton’s way. Denver finished the drive with a touchdown after an illegal use of hands penalty against the Rams helped swing the momentum even further, and the Broncos survived a late Rams push to win 30-26. The victory moved Denver over .500 for the first time this season.
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