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Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman absolutely interfered with Falcons receiver Julio Jones on Atlanta’s final offensive play Sunday. However, the flag never came out and Seattle was able to hold on for a 26-24 victory over the Falcons.

But if Sherman had his way with the rule book, the would-be penalty wouldn’t have been nearly as significant to the game’s outcome as it would have been under current rules.

Sherman believes pass interference should be a 15-yard penalty, and not a spot foul, for both offensive and defensive interference penalties.

“I’d make it 15 yards like college,” Sherman said Wednesday. “I’d make both 15 yards, offensive and defensive, because it’s not as much of a penalty. An offensive player can stop a turnover and it’s a 10-yard penalty and they might still get the first down. A defensive player, they can say, ‘Oh, he was about to stop a touchdown,’ so they give him a spot foul. That’s the difference.”

NCAA rules have pass interference as a 15-yard penalty for both offense and defense with defensive pass interference being a spot foul up to 15 yards.The current rules have offensive pass interference as a 10-yard penalty and defensive pass interference as a spot foul. With Atlanta facing fourth-and-10 and needing to go at least 35 yards to get into field goal range with less than two minutes to play, Matt Ryan basically threw up a jump ball to Jones in the middle of the field where he was covered by Sherman and Earl Thomas. If the flag had been thrown, it would have been approximately a 37-yard penalty, which would have given the Falcons a likely chance to win the game on a field goal.

Sherman feels that the penalty is disproportionately weighted in the offense’s favor, especially when receivers can maul a defensive back in prime position for an interception with the only penalty being 10 yards and the chance to continue their possession.

“That’s the league you play in. Fourth-and-10 for the game, they can just throw one up and hope for a flag. Then you deal with that at the end. It is what it is and we won the game,” Sherman said.

Under Sherman’s scenario (with the penalty actually called), the Falcons would have had the ball at their own 40-yard line with around 90 seconds to play. It’s still a significant penalty assessed against Seattle’s defense but it wouldn’t have completely flipped field position on one play. Because of the spot foul part of the equation, it may also lead officials to not want to “bail out” a desperation jump ball opportunity with such a penal flag.

Sherman also doesn’t believe pass interference should be a reviewable penalty.

“If you watched every offensive snap of the line play in slow motion, it would look like a hold of some sort or hands to the face,” Sherman said. “You know, it’s just football. If you replay everything then it’s going to be on every play, every play on the line, every play on the secondary you can call, a penalty anytime, on both sides of the ball.”