DENVER (AP) — Pat Bryant 's acting skills could put a blush on the faces of Neymar, Rivaldo and Arjen Robben, the most famous divers in World Cup soccer history due to their theatrical embellishments.
And they stand up to the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James and James Harden, widely considered among the NBA's most notorious and frequent floppers.
Bryant admittedly embellished the contact on a defensive pass interference call on Josh Wallace
that negated an interception by the Rams quarterback with just over a minute remaining, paving the way for Bo Nix's reach-over-the-scrum touchdown that sent the Denver Broncos to a 30-26 win over Los Angeles on Sunday night.
“I sold it just a little bit,” Bryant said.
Such theatrics are more talent than skill, more spur of the moment than rehearsed and honed, suggested Broncos coach Sean Payton, who has his own history with debatable decisions by the officials when it comes to the Rams.
“We’re not at that soccer level yet, because we saw that for a summer," Payton said with a chuckle Monday. "I think it’s probably south of where the NBA is. I think there’s nothing that anyone works on. If they’re trying to catch a pass or… it’s not something that’s practiced. I don’t know other than (Bryant's) natural reaction, outside of that, there’s really nothing we look at.”
Replays showed some pushing and grabbing between Bryant and Wallace as they ran from left to right toward the sideline on third-and-6 from the L.A. 11 with 1:15 remaining and the Broncos trailing 26-23.
“He did interfere just a little bit,” insisted Bryant, who appeared to be thrown off-balance from Wallace’s quick shove into his back and grab at his waist as they strode toward the sideline. “I did what I had to do to get the ball.”
Bryant garnished the contact, throwing his head back as the two tumbled toward the sideline and Wallace somehow cradled Nix's pass as they fell out of bounds.
It would have been Wallace's second interception of the game, but he was whistled for defensive pass interference in the most debated call of Week 3 in the NFL along with Nate Wiggins' DPI call on CeeDee Lamb in the closing seconds of the Ravens-Cowboys thriller in Rio de Janeiro.
As the officials spotted the ball at the 7 with a first down, the NBC broadcast team of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth brought in rules analysis Terry McAulay.
“As we get toward the end, 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.”
Pass interference calls aren't reviewable, so the Broncos and Bryant maybe got away with one. Or maybe the officials got it right. McAulay never addressed Wallace's shove to Bryant's back that knocked him off-balance, allowing him to pick off the pass.
Three plays later, Quentin Lake was flagged for illegal use of the hands on third down, giving the Broncos a first down at the 2. And the Rams, who committed a whopping 13 penalties to Denver's five, weren't done. Kobie Turner was whistled for encroachment with the ball inside the 1. That moved the ball inches closer to the goal line, setting up Nix's reach-in touchdown that put Denver ahead 30-26 with 47 seconds left.
The Broncos survived Matthew Stafford's last-gasp drive when safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted him in the end zone as time expired for his second pick of the night.
With NFL fans and analysts suggesting the Rams were robbed, L.A. coach Sean McVay declined to join the fray.
“I’m not going to play the victim card,” he said Monday. “It doesn’t really matter. It is what it is. That was the call that was made."
Some suggested this was comeuppance for McVay and the Rams, who got away with a blatant pass interference call in the NFC championship in 2018 that kept Payton's New Orleans Saints out of the Super Bowl.
“Well, Coach Payton finally got his P.I. call!” former Rams star Andrew Whitworth posted on X. “I say we call it even.”
Not so fast.
“Well this is years later, so a completely different game, different players," Payton said Monday. “... The longer you get in this thing, the less you discuss penalties. You just got to go out and play. I’ve yet to see one get changed either way. You hope that when the game’s over with, the season’s over with, you’re on the positive side of the ledger.”
And that any calls or non-calls didn't curtail championship dreams.
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With contributions from AP Sports Writer Pat Graham.
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