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Two Washington football players threw their best punches at each other as the team was being run off the field by their hated division rival Dallas Cowboys in the nationally televised prime time game Sunday.
Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen took a swing at his teammate Daron Payne as the players huddled on the bench after the Cowboys scored their fourth touchdown in a little more than a quarter.
Payne appeared to prod at Allen’s head as the linemen discussed what was happening on the field. Allen responded by throwing a punch at Payne, which didn’t connect. The two quarreling teammates had to be pulled apart from one another, with line coach Sam Mills Jr. getting in between the two.
‘I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist,’ Allen said about why the fight started.
‘If you look at how that game went, emotions are high, things are high, things happen.’
He said that he would take ‘full responsibility’ for his actions, as would Payne.
‘When something happens on the field you never let it carry into the locker room,’ Allen said. ‘Things get heated, we fix them, we sit down as grown me and we move on.’
Washington was down 28-7 at the time of the fracas and would go on to lose 56-14 to fall to 6-9 on the year, clinching their fourth-straight losing season. It was also the once-proud franchise’s 21st non-winning record in the last 29 seasons.
The loss all but eliminated Washington from playoff contention, while the Cowboys improved to 11-4 and clinched the NFC East title.
Jonathan Allen can be seen throwing a punch at fellow defensive linebacker Daron Payne at Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys
Payne characterized the incident as a ‘little brotherly disagreement.’
‘Maybe the wrong place, wrong time but it happened,” Payne told ESPN. ‘You got brothers? You all fight don’t you? S— happens.’
Coach Ron Rivera said that the frustrations stemmed from several player injuries, COVID-19 issues and a three-game losing streak. He said that no disciplinary action would be taken.
‘I talked with them, and as far as I’m concerned that’s where it’s going to stay,’ Rivera said. ‘What my players say to me is nobody’s business.’
Payne is in his fourth year with the team, has 3.5 sacks, 47 tackles and a fumble recovery in his 14 games for Washington. Allen, who is in his fifth year with the team, has 8.5 sacks and 29 tackles this reason, and had just been selected to his first Pro Bowl.
The in-game incident capped an already difficult week for the team. On Thursday night, safety Deshazor Everett crashed his sports car, killing his girlfriend after slamming into a tree in Virginia.
No arrests have been made, and alcohol was not thought to be a factor in the crash.
Washington Football Team defensive tackle Daron Payne sits on the bench in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (4) is tackled by Washington Football Team’s Daron Payne (94) and Jonathan Allen (93) in the first half of an NFL football game
Washington Football Team outside linebacker David Mayo (51) sets the play with defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (93) and defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium
Source: Daily Mail
