Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo says he can’t figure out why a crucial pass interference penalty was called against his team in their overtime loss to the 49ers, insisting that the ball was uncatchable. As a result, Spagnuolo is sending in tape of the play and asking why it was called.
Still, Spagnuolo wants to make it clear that he’s not blaming the officiating for his team’s loss.
“We would always send those in,” Spagnuolo said, per 101 ESPN. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. The league allows you to do that, and then they correspond back. Again, I’m not going to go there. I have my own thoughts, but the play was called a DPI, and that’s what we’ve got to live with.”
The penalty was extremely costly, handing the 49ers 22 yards and moving them into range for their game-winning field goal. The player called for the penalty, Rams safety Oshimogho Atogwe, feels the same way -- he doesn’t think the ball could have been caught, but he’s not going to go down the path of blaming the officials for a loss.
“I didn’t believe it was a catchable ball,” Atogwe said. “But his job is to make calls and mine is to play the game so--it happens.”