Seahawks Defender Goes Viral After Avoiding Boneheaded Penalty

The Seattle Seahawks fans pride themselves in being the 12th man when they play at Lumen Field. But the Seahawks aren’t literally permitted to play with a 12th man on the field.

Well, at least not normally. In Week 12 against the Las Vegas Raiders, though, Seattle intercepted a pass, had 12 players on the field at the end of a play and was not called for a foul.

The 12th man on the play was defensive end Darrell Taylor. The second-year lineman ran onto the field before safety Quandre Diggs was down following an interception. On the return, Taylor helped block a potential Raiders tackler, as Diggs returned the pick 20 yards.

Despite Taylor joining the play late to become a 12th Seahawks defender on the field, the officials did not throw a penalty flag.

Taylor Overexcited to Celebrate Interception

The fad after turnovers in the NFL over the last few seasons has been for defenses to congregate in the end zone as an entire unit and celebrate. That has happened often in the NFL regardless of whether or not the takeaway results in a touchdown.

But obviously, defenders can’t jump onto the field before a play ends. That’s exactly what Taylor did when Diggs made his interception on the very first play from scrimmage in the game.

Taylor avoided a penalty for joining the play late because the officials did not notice the Seahawks defensive end leaving the sideline. Interestingly, the replay official failed in this case as well.

Twelve players on the field is one of the few penalties that is reviewable. Presumably, the foul is reviewable if the defense has 12 players on the field at any time.

Because the play was a turnover, the Raiders couldn’t challenge the fact there was no 12-men on the field penalty, but the play was automatically reviewed. So in addition to the game officials, the replay official missed Taylor leaving the sideline while the play was still live.

Yahoo’s Frank Schwab, though, speculated that Taylor could receive a fine from the NFL this week.

Diggs Intercepts Two Passes Against Raiders

Diggs’ interception on the first play from scrimmage against Las Vegas was his first pick of the 2022 season. He also had a second interception in the first quarter.

The two picks from Diggs led to 10 points for the Seahawks. That helped Seattle open up a 6-point lead after the first quarter, but the Raiders responded with the next two touchdowns to give the Seahawks an 8-point deficit.

In addition to the 2 interceptions, Diggs recorded a season-high 2 pass defenses. He also had 6 combined tackles. Diggs posted 13 combined tackles in the last two games combined, his most in a two-game span since Weeks 4 and 5.

Although Diggs’ interceptions did not ultimately lead to a Seattle victory — the Seahawks fell 40-34 in overtime — Pete Carroll’s defense would surely like to see more big plays from its 2-time Pro Bowl safety.

Now heading into Week 13, Seattle is fourth in the NFL with 19 takeaways this season despite not having Diggs cause a turnover before November 27. Diggs had 5 interceptions during each of the last two years.

Behind 18 turnovers, the Seahawks own a plus-4 turnover margin, which is fifth-best in the league.

If the Seahawks intercept more passes next week, though, they will apparently need to make sure Taylor stays on the sideline until the play is completely finished.