New England Patriots linebacker Jahlani Tavai was called for a penalty after delivering a body slam to New York Jets running back Breece Hall during Thursday night's AFC East division rivalry game at MetLife Stadium.
It happened about halfway through the first quarter with the game still scoreless. The Jets had 1st-and-10 on the Patriots 46-yard line. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a pass to Hall in the flat with Tavai in position to stop him for no game. Tavai wrapped his arms around him to stop his forward progress, but while officials were blowing the whistle, Tavai lifted Hall off his feet and threw him down on the ground.
Jahlani Tavai is flagged for unnecessary roughness here. Brutal call pic.twitter.com/2Eenvgt89i
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 20, 2024
The body slam occurred right in front of an official, who immediately threw the flag for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. Jets offensive lineman John Simpson immediately got into Tavai's face to stick up for his teammate.
Although this is certainly not as bad as some of the vicious hits we have seen in the NFL over the years, once the whistles started blowing, Tavai should have pulled back a bit. He would have been better just dropping Hall mid-tackle.
The Jets scored a touchdown on the drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
