Bill Belichick doesn’t believe cornerback Jonathan Jones did anything wrong on the play that landed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in concussion protocol.
Jones was flagged for unnecessary roughness after drilling a scrambling Allen during the fourth quarter of the New England Patriots’ 16-10 win Sunday at New Era Field.
“When there really isn’t anything you can tell him to do differently, then I think you don’t tell him anything,” Belichick said in a conference call Monday morning. “I mean, Allen’s a big runner. He’s a strong guy. He’s hard to tackle. He certainly broke several tackles against us. Jon turned when he hit him. He didn’t lead with his head. He didn’t have that posture.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott said Jones should have been ejected for his hit on Allen, which stopped the 6-foot-5, 238-pound signal-caller 1 yard shy of a first down on third-and-8. Al Riveron, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, disagreed, telling a pool reporter the league office “didn’t feel that that contact rose to the level of an ejection.”
“The player actually turns,” Riveron said, referring to Jones, who did not lead with the crown of his helmet. “Obviously, there is helmet contact, but we have standards for an ejection, and this did not rise to that standard.”
Belichick pointed to Riveron’s assessment when asked about the play Monday morning.
“I think Al Riveron talked about the play (Sunday), and that’s what we have to go by,” the Patriots coach said. “So we’ll coach it based on what Al’s guidelines or commentary was on the play.”
