Much of New England was outraged at the controversial call that ended Monday night’s game between the Patriots and Panthers, but Logan Mankins wasn’t particularly surprised.
During an interview with Comcast SportsNet after the loss, the Patriots guard claimed that the officials had been inconsistent in their rulings throughout the night. Mankins was called for a personal foul earlier in the game — a penalty he did not believe he committed.
“Hey, it is what it is,” he said. “I have to live with it. But I didn’t feel it was a personal foul. They told me I punched a guy in the face. I don’t recall punching anyone in the face. So it is what it is, it happened.”
Mankins went on to address the notion that the teams played a dirty game, specifically pointing to the play in the third quarter in which Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon appeared to leg whip Carolina’s Charles Johnson near the line of scrimmage. Johnson left the field with a leg injury as a result of the play, but he later returned.
“No, I don’t think [it was a dirty game] at all,” Mankins said. “That Johnson guy, I thought he broke his leg or was paralyzed the way he was screaming out there. But sure enough he was back in the game later. I don’t know what that was about. it was one of those nights where two teams were playing hard and getting after it, but it wasn’t dirty.”
Hear more from Mankins in the video below.
