Rams seemingly on wrong end of questionable pass interference call in loss to Broncos

The Los Angeles Rams probably should have had a key interception in the final two minutes against the Denver Broncos . But Broncos receiver Pat Bryant pulled off a pretty good acting job.

With the Broncos at the Rams ' 11-yard line, trailing 26-23, Bo Nix threw to Bryant. Rams cornerback Josh Wallace made a great interception on the play, getting a knee in bounds, but a penalty flag came out. And in real time it looked like there was contact because Bryant threw up his left and fell to the ground.

A closer look showed that Bryant was embellishing.

Bryant actually pulled Wallace into him, then threw up his hand and flopped down as Wallace made what would have been a game-changing interception. NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said on the broadcast that he saw no penalty on Wallace.

"We actually see the receiver grab the defender and pull him into him," McAulay said. "I don't see the defender do anything that significantly hinders the receiver on this play."

McAulay clarified that the initial contact early in the play didn't deserve a flag on Wallace either.

"Just hands on him," McAulay said. "He doesn't do anything with it."

The Rams would have had the ball at their own 8-yard line with 1:09 to go. The Broncos had three timeouts left and could have gotten the ball back, but their odds of winning would have dropped dramatically. Instead, the Broncos got a first down and a few plays later Nix scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Denver the lead. The Rams had a quick drive to the red zone in the final seconds, but Matthew Stafford was picked off on the final play of the game and the Broncos won 30-26 .

After a report said that Rams head coach Sean McVay ducked out of his postgame news conference, he actually did speak briefly to the media about the loss.

The Rams are off to a 1-2 start . Losing after a penalty that was questionable at best went against them won't help their mood.