Getty Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer #21 looks on before a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium on October 09, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer is heated over a controversial call for a divisional rival, taking to Twitter to call out officials over the play.
Poyer, who was able to enjoy a Sunday of watching football after the Bills took care of business on Thursday against the New England Patriots, called out an unnecessary roughness penalty on New York Jets defensive back Jordan Whitehead. The play came on a hard hit on Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in the first half of the December 4 game that appeared to be clean but still drew a flag.
The call drew some pushback from fans online, with Poyer joining in to voice his displeasure.
Poyer Pushes Back
The Bills safety shared a clip of the play, showing Whitehead laying a hard hit on Jefferson while leading with his shoulder. Poyer said he didn’t believe the hit warranted a penalty and took aim at the NFL for what he saw as cracking down too hard on defenses.
“I mean… my goodness they want us to play flag football at this point,” Poyer tweeted.
Many others joined in calling out officials for flagging Whitehead for the hit.
“This officiating crew is an embarrassment. Jordan Whitehead just got a penalty for being good at football,” tweeted ESPN radio host Jake Asman.
Jefferson still made the catch and would have had a first down anyway, but the additional penalty yardage gave the Vikings a first-and-goal.
Poyer was likely more happy with the outcome of the game than the call. The Vikings went on the win 27-22, dropping the Jets to 7-5, two games behind the Bills for first place in the AFC East.
Bills Likely Facing Consequences of Hard Hit
While Poyer was complaining about the call from New York’s loss, the Bills are awaiting a call from the NFL headquarters in New York on their own punishment. Safety Damar Hamlin was ejected in the final minutes of Buffalo’s win over the Patriots for a hit on wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and faces a likely fine in the coming week.
The Patriots were facing a third-and-15 from Buffalo’s 15-yard line late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Mac Jones found Meyers in the endzone. It appeared at first that the Patriots receiver hauled in a touchdown, but Hamlin closed out fast and laid a hard hit on Meyers near his head and neck area that dislodged the ball. Meyers was flagged and ultimately ejected from the game.
The Bills were able to hold the Patriots to a field goal on the drive, then recovered an onside kick to close out the game.
Some Bills fans also complained about the call, noting that there was no other way Hamlin could have covered the pass other than allowing Meyers to catch it. The league has cracked down on hits against defenseless receivers, which has put tighter scrutiny on defensive players like Whitehead and Hamlin.
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As Ryan Miller of the Democrat & Chronicle noted, the Bills have been involved in three ejections this season.
“Buffalo defensive end A.J. Epenesa was ejected for making contact with an official in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Miller wrote. “Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker was ejected for shoving Bills practice squad tight end Zach Davidson on the sideline after a play in Week 8.”