When the NFL announced that officials would place an added emphasis on enforcing taunting penalties, everyone knew it was going to be a terrible idea.

The league was taking a problem that didn’t exist and seemingly going out of its way to make the viewing experience demonstrably worse. After all, nothing good can come from throwing 15-yard penalties at players for flexing in the vicinity of an opponent.

It was a rule that was designed to take the fun and personality out of the game because a bunch of owners on the Competition Committee didn’t like seeing it. And by doing that, they opened up the possibility of a game-changing taunting call.

We nearly had that happen on Sunday.

Here's the video

After the Seahawks’ D.J. Reed made a tough play to break up a pass intended for A.J. Brown, Reed got up and flexed towards Brown to celebrate. It was a big fourth-quarter play, and Reed had every reason to celebrate it — and it absolutely should not have been taunting.

The 15-yard penalty could have changed the game for Seattle, but the Titans would turn the ball over on downs at the 29. Yet, fans had seen enough. They didn’t want to wait for another taunting penalty to change a game.

That rule needs to change — virtually all NFL fans agreed.

Make it stop, NFL. Nobody asked for this except for John Mara.