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The Carolina Panthers took an embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. It was a complete disaster as the team had no answers all day. However, it appears as though Mac Jones might have gotten away with a dirty play on Brian Burns.
At one moment in the game, Brian Burns made a brilliant play and sacked Mac Jones. The ball came loose and the Panthers recovered it, forcing a turnover. While both teams are chasing after the loose ball, Mac Jones was seen twisting Brian Burns' ankle, in which Haason Reddick claims was a “completely dirty” play.
Thanks to Dov Kleiman, we now have a closer look at the play in question. It's as clear as day that Jones grabs and twists Burns' ankle.
A closer look at Mac Jones' "dirty" twisting of Brian Burns ankle – not great [@philorbanWSOC9]https://t.co/W9x0SRvCR2
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 8, 2021
Phil Orban provides a quick breakdown of the footage after capturing the close angle himself. “You can clearly see the grab, the trip, and the roll. It's not great.”
https://twitter.com/philorbanWSOC9/status/1457743909384335361
This is uncalled for behavior from a quarterback, let alone, any player in the league. Mac Jones deliberately went out of his way to hurt another player. This is something the NFL cannot have in the game. However, the league has seemed to ignore dirty plays like this, as Harrison Smith got away with choking CeeDee Lamb in Week 8. The Panthers are hopeful the league will do its due diligence.
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Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb said during game Sunday in reference to Vikings S Harrison Smith: “This man was choking the (expletive) out of me while I’m on the sideline.” Video of play and comment via @dallascowboys. No flag from official. pic.twitter.com/ztu0r7tN2R
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 3, 2021
In two consecutive weeks, the NFL has seen two players on separate teams attempt to hurt their opponent. So far there have been no punishments for these actions. The Panthers are furious with the situation while the Patriots have completely ignored it altogether.
The NFL must step up and deliver some sort of punishment to Mac Jones (and Harrison Smith for that matter). If they don't, dirty plays will continue to leak into the game. According to Tom Pelissero, the NFL “will review Patriots QB Mac Jones grabbing (Panthers) Brian Burns' ankle Sunday as part of its normal process.”
The NFL will review #Patriots QB Mac Jones grabbing Brian Burns' ankle Sunday as part of its normal process, I'm told. Jones faces a possible fine, but nothing more than that.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 8, 2021
We'll see what the NFL says after their investigation. However, based on how Rodger Goodell handles things, don't set your expectations too high. For now, all the Panthers can do is focus on their Week 10 opponent.
