JuJu Smith-Schuster Owns Up To Bad Penalty, Reveals What Inspired It

Sunday was another forgettable day in JuJu Smith-Schuster’s Patriots career. The veteran receiver caught just one pass for 5 yards and showed basically zero chemistry with quarterback Mac Jones.

But the low point arrived midway through the third quarter, with New England nursing a 13-3 lead over the New York Jets.

Smith-Schuster was flagged for an illegal blindside block penalty on a first-down play from the Patriots’ 20-yard line. The penalty moved the Patriots offense back 10 yards, and the drive ultimately went nowhere.

Smith-Schuster, who now has just 10 catches for 66 yards in three games, owned up to the error while speaking to NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry after New England’s 15-10 road win. He also revealed what initially inspired him to try the block, which the NFL banned in a rule introduced four years ago.

“I was just trying to make a play to help my boys,” Smith-Schuster told Perry. “I wasn’t thinking. I keep forgetting there’s a new rule. … It’s funny, I was watching Hines Ward, his blocking videos, before the game today. I saw that, and I saw an opportunity, and I took advantage of it. Yeah, it wasn’t smart by me to do that. Different era.”

Smith-Schuster isn’t wrong for watching Ward’s blocking highlights. During his decorated career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ward developed a reputation as one of the best blocking receivers in NFL history.

But, obviously, not everything Ward got away with in the early 2000s will fly in today’s NFL. Smith-Schuster learned that lesson the hard way Sunday afternoon.

He’ll look for a cleaner — and more productive — game this Sunday when the 1-2 Patriots visit the 2-1 Dallas Cowboys.