The Green Bay Packers rolled the Dallas Cowboys on the Week 6 edition of Sunday Night Football, and frustrations began to boil over as the teams passed the midway point of the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field.
There were a few chippy incidents throughout the contest, but by far the most blatant and dangerous involved Cowboys second-year offensive lineman Tyler Booker charging Packers defensive back Javon Bullard from behind and smashing him to the ground during a play.
Video of the incident shows multiple Green Bay defenders converging on the Dallas ball-carrier. By the time Booker arrives to the pileup, the Cowboys have established forward progress and the game action was essentially over.
However, Booker decided to crash violently into Bullard anyway, ultimately knocking him to the turf and incurring an in-game penalty.
“He could’ve broken Javon Bullard’s back here,” the IKE Packers Podcast X account wrote on Sunday night, October 18. “It’s a miracle he’s okay. [Number] 52 needs to be suspended, one of the dirtiest hits in a long time.”
NFL Likely to Hit Tyler Booker With Major Fine After Action Toward Javon Bullard
A suspension for Booker is unlikely, though the NFL reserves the right to make such decisions if the relevant authorities deem them necessary.
More plausible, though, is a serious financial penalty by way of the league’s Office of Gameday Accountability, which hands down several fines every week to players for their on-field actions.
The officials on Sunday night flagged Booker for unnecessary roughness on the play in question. That is an umbrella term that covers multiple different kinds of offenses, and it is not entirely clear of which one the NFL might determine Booker is guilty.
Dallas’s 2025 first-round pick is perhaps looking at a fine for a blindside block, which costs $17,911 for a first offense and $23,882 for a second offense, per the league’s official website.
The NFL might otherwise decide to reclassify Booker’s actions as unsportsmanlike conduct in retrospect, an infraction which carries a fine of $14,926 for the first offense and $20,897 for the second offense.
Packers Shut Down Cowboys in Run Game, Forced 2 Turnovers
Booker’s actions may have stemmed from frustrations on the Cowboys sideline, namely with regards to an offense that was supposed to carry the team this season but has not been able to get going over the past two weeks.
The Cowboys lost to the formerly winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers and undrafted rookie QB Jalon Daniels on Thursday Night Football in Week 5 after scoring just 16 points. Dallas managed even less production in Green Bay on Sunday, losing by a score of 23-13, despite 10 days of rest and time to prepare for the Packers on a long week.
Green Bay held the Cowboys offense to fewer than 300 total yards, including just 48 yards rushing on 15 carries. The Packers also intercepted quarterback Dak Prescott twice on their way to a third straight victory and the team’s fourth win in its last five games.
Cowboys’ Dirty Play on Packers’ Javon Bullard Likely to Draw NFL Punishment