Several New England Patriots players lobbied the NFL to take action on New York Giants special teamer Cam Brown after his hit landed Demario Douglas in concussion protocol.
But those members of the Patriots didn’t get what they wanted Saturday as the NFL did not issue a fine for Brown clotheslining Douglas on a punt return early in the fourth quarter during last Sunday’s contest at MetLife Stadium. Brown was not flagged on the play.
“It’s just crazy,” Peppers said after the game. “They preach all this player safety stuff, but that doesn’t get flagged. But I’ve been fined maybe two or three times for clean hits. So that pissed me off, too. They even looked up at the Jumbotron, and there was still no flag.
“But you can’t say anything about the refs in this league. It is what it is. To me, that’s a joke. You can’t say you care about player safety and not flag that play.”
The high hit has had more consequences for Douglas, who did not practice at all this week and has already been ruled out for New England’s Week 13 contest against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium.
Despite Brown skating by without getting fined, two other Giants had their wallets hit for their actions in the game against the Patriots. Linebacker Carter Coughlin was fined $5,764 for unnecessary roughness and safety Xavier McKinney was docked a substantial $13,659 for unsportsmanlike conduct after Chad Ryland’s game-tying field goal attempt in the final seconds sailed wide.
The Patriots will have to put this behind them now, though, as they look to snap a four-game losing streak against the Chargers. Kickoff on Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
