Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman comes close to ejection after big hit

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman flirted with ejection during Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans.

Sherman was called for three separate penalties on the same play in the first quarter.

He was flagged for a pass interference call on Eric Decker and then a hold against Decker on an interception return by Kam Chancellor. After seeing the flags had been thrown, Sherman removed his helmet and aggressively questioned the officiating crew as to what he had done to be penalized. Removing his helmet resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penaltyl. Two such penalties in a game results in an automatic ejection.

"We've covered that for years, but in the moment he made a mistake," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "That's a 15-yarder you just hand somebody."

Sherman said he was just seeking an explanation as to why he was penalized.

"The flag came after Kam caught the ball," Sherman said. "You don't have a problem with the flag being thrown if they called what they called (during the play). But when it happens after a big play, then it raises some eyebrows, raises some suspicions. Then his explanation was very poor."

Sherman pressed him further.

"'Get away from me,'" Sherman said the official told him. "But I can ask what you saw -- I'm not disrespecting you in any way. I want to know what you saw so I can correct my decision."

Sherman could have been flagged again for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected for not standing down in his quest for an explanation. He was later involved in a scuffle on the Titans' sideline after Sherman delivered a late hit on quarterback Marcus Mariota, which prompted several Titans players to react viscerally and get in Sherman's face.