It’s a funny one given the gesture Witherspoon made and the opponent he felled.
Devon Witherspoon was doing a bit of everything on the decisive play of the game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.
The second-year corner sniffed out Kyler Murray’s keeper on 4th and 1, resulting in Murray’s panicked overthrow into the waiting arms of Coby Bryant. You’ve probably watched the play from the TV broadcast a million times already. Now let’s watch from the All-22 angle for where the magic happens and where we discover why Devon Witherspoon was flagged for taunting.
The first “taunt” was toward Kyler Murray, who was pushed out of bounds by Witherspoon and uh... just watched after the interception. That didn’t merit a flag. Once Coby was sprinting down the sideline, Witherspoon kicked into high gear to take out James Conner and rookie tight end Tip Reiman on the play. What did get him flagged was the “too small” gesture while Conner was on the ground. Conner is slightly taller than Spoon but small he ain’t.
The penalty did force Jason Myers to kick (and miss) a 48-yard extra point, which could’ve meant something in the end, but Witherspoon and the Seahawks defense made sure it was just a footnote.
We’ll see if Witherspoon gets monetary punishment later in the week in addition to the penalty. It’s pretty much a guarantee that Coby’s Marshawn Lynch tribute will get him the “obscene gesture” fine.
