The NFL has made a decision on one of Week 3’s most controversial collisions, issuing a $ 4,600 fine to New Orleans rookie Khristian Boyd for his hit on Eagles WR DeVonta Smith, which resulted in Smith leaving the game with a concussion.
According to Times-Picayune beat writer Matthew Paras, Boyd’s hit was classified as a helmet-to-helmet impact against a defenseless player, despite him not being penalized during the game.
“I would never deliberately try to give someone a serious injury,” Boyd said about the incident in a now-deleted Instagram story. “Just tried to make a play on the ball. We well soon 6.”
The hit happened early in the fourth quarter while the Eagles were behind 3-0. DeVonta Smith gained separation on a drag route and made a short, five-yard reception. He was quickly surrounded by several Saints defenders and was dragged several yards beyond his progress marker. Despite this, the referees didn’t stop the play, allowing Khristian Boyd to come in at full speed and deliver a devastating hit that knocked Smith’s helmet off.
DeVonta Smith was left on the turf as medical staff rushed to attend to him, and the Eagles later confirmed he would miss the rest of the game due to a concussion. His absence raised concerns about the team’s depth, especially with A.J. Brown also sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Later in the game, the Saints found themselves in further controversy when Alvin Kamara converted a crucial 3rd and 4. After being pushed out of bounds, offensive tackle Trevor Penning continued his block on Darius Slay, pushing him into the Saints’ bench, resulting in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
Although Slay recovered, the Eagles locker room unanimously deemed Penning’s actions as dirty, while Saints coach Dennis Allen defended his team’s hard playing style, denying any intent to play dirty.
“I’d say our guys play extremely hard and we’re going to compete until the down is over,” Allen said. “I don’t think we play dirty. I don’t think we ever have played dirty. It’s not the way we coach it, not the way we teach it, but we do play hard. Look, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, nobody’s trying to hurt anybody and unfortunately, that’s part of the business that we’re in. No, we don’t play dirty. We don’t coach dirty, but we do play hard and we do play physical.”
Leave a Reply