St. Louis’ wide receiver Torry Holt is claiming that an official during the Rams’ 23-20 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday used the scoreboard to call an offensive pass interference penalty on him in the second half.

“He said he looked up in the Jumbotron and saw that I pushed off,” said Holt, who is in his 10th year with the Rams (2-12). “I told him I never extended my arm. It is one thing if you extended, because that is pass interference. But everything was in motion catching the football. I don’t even know if I had my hands on the guy.

“That was his explanation, and I told him it was a bad call.”

With the Rams leading 17-13 with 4:40 left in the third quarter, St. Louis took possession on its 20 and moved to the Seattle 46. On second down, Marc Bulger threw a strike down the right sideline that Holt caught at the 26 against cornerback Marcus Trufant.

The play was brought back on the penalty, pushing the Rams to their 44. St. Louis moved the ball to the Seattle 29 and settled for a field goal with 11:09 remaining. The Seahawks trailed only 20-13 and were still in the game.

“I was surprised,” Holt said of the key penalty. “I could understand if I did because I would take that, but I could not understand it. It was a big play for our team. It was something that we needed. We needed some energy, something to get us going.

“Torry made such a nice catch there. I think he did (push off),” Bulger said. “It wasn’t just one play that cost us this game.”

Here’s the thing, Bulger’s right. One play doesn’t make or break an entire game. The Rams were up 17-7 at one point and couldn’t put a bad Seahawks team away at home.

This season couldn’t end any faster for the Rams.