Why Christian Barmore Got So Heated During Patriots-Dolphins Scuffle

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Patriots and Dolphins got heated during a late-game scuffle at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

But no player was more fired up than New England defensive tackle Christian Barmore.

In case you checked out early, JuJu Smith-Schuster leveled Miami safety Brandon Jones to break up an interception with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter. It was the final offensive play of the day for the Patriots, who suffered a 31-17 loss to their AFC East rivals.

The play sparked a mini-scuffle, with multiple Dolphins players following Smith-Schuster back to New England's sideline. Players from both teams then left their respective sidelines to engage in some pushing and shoving.

Barmore was right in the thick of it, and was especially animated while leaving the field after the final whistle. So, what was the deal?

"Gotta protect my teammate," he said in the locker room. "My guy going off the field, (a Dolphins player) came over to my sideline. That's disrespectful, you know? Came to defend my teammate.

Barmore paused, then added: "It's competitive football. It was a hot game."

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After the game, Smith-Schuster said he thought the hit was clean. Barmore agreed.

"To me, it was," the third-year defensive tackle said. "He hit the guy, it wasn't head-to-head. If the guy had caught the pick, it'd been our fault. (Smith-Schuster) made him not get the pick. So, he was doing his job. He ain't stand over him, he walked right off to the sideline. Guys got mad, just came to our sideline -- and that's why we got mad. Came to our sideline, like crazy."

Barmore drove the point home during a separate conversation with MassLive's Mark Daniels.

"Those boys came on our sideline acting crazy," he told Daniels. "We're not going to let nobody come on our sideline and disrespect us like that. They came on our sideline and we were protecting our teammate. That wasn't a dirty hit. Our man was doing his job. He did his job. He didn't want the guy to catch the pick. How's that dirty? He just walked away to the sideline. He did his job."

The entire thing, and the loss, marred what was another excellent game for Barmore. He was one of the Patriots' best players, finishing with five tackles and one sack.

New England now is 2-6. Bill Belichick's team will look to get back on track next Sunday when it hosts the Washington Commanders.