New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones drew the ire of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
After the Patriots defeated the Panthers 24-6 at Bank of America Stadium, Panthers edge rusher Haason Reddick called out the rookie quarterback for what he viewed as a “completely dirty” play.
The play in question took place late in the first quarter. After Carolina’s Brian Burns sacked Jones and forced a fumble, Jones grabbed and twisted Burns’ ankle to prevent him from recovering the loose ball. Burns suffered an ankle injury on the play.
“I definitely thought it was a dirty play,” Reddick told reporters postgame. “I actually saw and witnessed the play as it was happening, as I was running, him seeing them over there. First of all, he was trying to trip or kick Burns, and then next thing you notice, I saw him tugging on Burns’ ankle. I thought it was completely dirty. Hopefully, it’s something that the league addresses.”
Bill Voth, the Panthers’ director of content and broadcasting, shared a field-level video of Jones’ grab on Twitter:
Reddick was adamant that Jones should have been penalized for his actions. He called the lack of a penalty “egregious” and “unfair.”
“I think it was surprising to not see that a penalty was called,” he said. “It seems like they’re always protecting the offensive players. Where is the protection for the defensive players, as well? I don’t know. I felt like that was a call that shouldn’t be missed. I’m going to speak out on it, whatever the consequences. However the referees feel, that’s how they feel.
“But it looked completely intentional from where I was standing — and I was pretty close — and I don’t think that’s a call that should have been missed.”
Burns returned to the field after being evaluated by team trainers, but he eventually left the game after injuring his ankle again in the second half. He was unable to put weight on his right foot as he was helped to the sideline, but Reddick said his teammate avoided serious injury.
“He’s good,” Reddick said. “He’s fine. He’ll be all right.”
Asked about the play after the game, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said he also believed Jones should have been flagged.
“Just from looking at the replay, I thought that maybe a foul should have been called,” Rhule told reporters. “I don’t want to call out any other players or anything like that. I’m always gonna protect our guys. It looked like it was an injury that happened after the play, so I was just kind of defending Brian.”
Rhule added that it is legal for players to pull opponents away from the ball during an attempted fumble recovery.
“When the guy’s on the ground, you can grab them, you can hold them, pull them away from the ball,” the coach said. “But I’d have to go back and watch the tape to comment on it.”
Burns has 5 1/2 sacks this season, second-most among Panthers defenders behind Reddick’s 8 1/2.
Jones was not asked about the play in his postgame news conference. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown with one interception in the win.
