A post-whistle scrap with Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. prevented safety Kyle Dugger from finishing last Saturday's New England Patriots game.
The skirmish, which ended with both players on the ground and Pittman's helmet ripped off, resulted in ejections for Dugger and Pittman. Both watched from the locker room as the Colts finished off a 27-17 win at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Five days after the fact, Dugger explained what he saw on the play.
"It was just a physical play all around," the soft-spoken defensive back said Thursday in a video conference. "I tried to release myself, (and) he obviously got in a good position to block me. I tried to release, and I felt like I was being held. So I just kind of tried to spin out of it. After that, it just kind of escalated with the pushing. It just kind of happened really fast.
"So I think it just started -- it was a physical play, which, the game was physical, and me trying to get out of a block. And then it just escalated from there."
Asked how to avoid another scenario like that in the future, Dugger replied: "I just have to be smarter."
"Slow down my thinking," he said. "It's really hard when the situation happened the way it did happen, with the pushing. But I just have to be smarter, because it resulted in me getting kicked out of the game, which, I can't help the team from the locker room. So I just have to be smarter, learn from it and try to slow down in a situation like that."
Dugger said he hasn't heard from the NFL about a potential fine.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick earlier this week said he believed Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton should have been ejected from the game, as well, because he could be seen shoving an official away from the pile.
The Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at Gillette Stadium with game time scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
