Emmanuel Sanders blasts 'soft' NFL over costly taunting flag in Broncos loss

Emmanuel Sanders thought he had a big touchdown catch against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos wide receiver celebrated as such, wagging his finger at Rams cornerback Troy Hill after rolling into the end zone after a 43-yard touchdown grab along the sideline.

Taunting penalty not enforced on the kickoff

The finger wag drew a flag and a 15-yard penalty, a punishment that is usually implemented on the ensuing kickoff. Not great, but not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

Except this flag proved more costly. Officials reviewed the play and determined that Sanders was down at the 1-yard line. That means the penalty is enforced from the spot.

Instead of first-and-goal from the 1, the Broncos now had the ball at the 16-yard line. They would go on to settle for a field goal in a 23-20 loss.

Ouch.

Sanders slams ‘soft’ NFL

The penalty stung in the moment and lingered for Sanders, who criticized the NFL after the game.

“To me, honestly, I feel like the league is getting soft,” Sanders told reporters. “I’m having fun. I didn’t do anything crazy to the guy besides say, ‘Hey, I got you on that play’ and pointing my finger at him. And they threw the flag, which is crazy, because I feel like I’ve been in the league nine years and I’ve been pointing at guys all the time.”

It must burn to feel like like a finger wag could have cost your team a chance at a win. Sanders being emotional is understandable.

Dumb penalty, dumb call

It was a dumb penalty. But it’s also dumb to give authority to an official to impact a game so significantly on a play that’s harmless and does not impact the game. Especially when it can be completely arbitrary whether it’s called or not depending on who the official on the play is.

Sanders would go on to redeem himself with a touchdown catch on a play where he powered through multiple defenders to break the plane of the end zone. But it’s little solace when thinking about the what-if had he not drawn a taunting flag.

Subscribe to The Yahoo Sports NFL Podcast
Apple Podcasts• Stitcher • Google Podcasts

More from Yahoo Sports:
• 4 teams jump out in College Football Playoff race
• Sources: No Curry suspension after near altercation
• Pat Forde: Takeaways from chaos-filled day in college football
• Report: Hernandez was ‘sexually molested as a young boy’