Getty Mac Jones scrambles in a Dec. 26 game against the Buffalo Bills.
A pair of New England Patriots players are facing the consequences after losing their composure in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots saw their division lead wash away in the 33-21 loss to the Bills on December 26, and on Saturday the league announced that offensive linemen Trent Brown and David Andrews were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that took place during the game. Both took place during a heated game that saw late hits and rising tensions along with one unusual outburst directed toward Patriots fans.
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Patriots Players Must Pay Up
As Boston.com’s Conor Roche reported, both Brown and Andrews were fined $10,300 for taunting penalties directed toward Bills players. Brown was flagged after what first appeared to be a break for the Patriots, with Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes hauling down Patriots quarterback Mac Jones out of bounds and drawing a flag for a late hit. Officials ended up picking up the flag, however, and Brown drew his own penalty for jawing at Bills players.
Speaking to reporters this week, Brown took responsibility for his mistake but said he still disagreed with the officials’ decision to take back the flag on Hughes.
“That was bull**** to pick up the flag. He was clearly in the white,” Brown said, pointing out that Jones was clearly out of bounds when Hughes made contact with him.
NFL refs will throw a flag on a defensive player for breathing on a QB, yet on this play they convened after the play and decided that this was a legal play. Makes sense.
Brown added that he felt protective of his teammates, but ended up taking it too far.
“I think the refs were a bit on edge because the game might’ve been getting a little chippy, so they had to get it under control. It’s understandable,” he said. “And even though I didn’t touch anybody, I was just yelling, he felt like he had to do what he had to do. It is what it is, it’s my bad. Just got to do better next time.”
Andrews was flagged for a similar play early in the fourth quarter, after Jones took another late hit — this one flagged — from Bills linebacker Matt Milano. After Milano hit a sliding Jones, Andrews ran toward the Bills linebacker and yelled at him, drawing a flag for taunting.
Bills Player Fined Too
The league also targeted the Bills after the heated affair with the Patriots. Defensive lineman Efe Obada was fined $6,944 for a hit to Jones’s facemask that was also flagged for roughing the passer, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reported. Hughes was not fined for his hit on Jones, Pelissero added.
The league also chose not to fine Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs after he was heard cursing toward Patriots fans after catching a second-quarter touchdown. The game broadcast captured Diggs singling out a group of fans in the front row and directing an expletive toward them.
While he may have escaped punishment from the NFL, Diggs said this week that he earned a talking-to from his mom after the game.
What did you tell those MASSHOLES in the front row??
“I was doin my best Oprah Winfrey impression.. YOU GET A CAR.. YOU GET A CAR & YOU GET A CAR” 😂😂 ~@stefondiggs
“I actually had a quick talk with my mom after the game, she actually asked to see what I said, if I was embarrassing her on TV,” Diggs said in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “I said, ‘Mom, I was doing my best Oprah Winfrey impression… You get a car! You get a car! You get a car!’ ”
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