Myles Jack has apologized for his conduct on the field after punching Demarcus Robinson, but not before blaming Sammy Watkins for his anger.
In the NFL, fights break out from time to time. During their Week 1 matchup, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs seemed eager to have a “go” at one another, prompting several after-the-whistle altercations on Sunday. In the incredible heat of Jacksonville, tempers flared equally as hot.
No one threw quite the tantrum that Jags linebacker Myles Jack did.
Long after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had been sacked and a first-quarter play had ended, the Chiefs and Jaguars got into a shoving match in an end zone. After the referees separated the mess of players, another altercation emerged.
Watching the play on tape, it appeared that Chiefs wide receiver Watkins arm-barred Jack and buried him then stands over him. Jack immediately stands up and gives an aggressive shove to Watkins before Chiefs wideout Demarcus Robinson separates the two players and is punched by Jack in the facemask, prompting his ejection. Jack then even made a move toward an official and was removed from the field with considerable effort.
Jack spoke to reporters after the game and apologized for his conduct on the field but wanted to clear the air about why he punched Robinson—kind of.
"“First and foremost, I have to apologize to my team and the city of Jacksonville because that is not how we conduct ourselves in any way. In the heat of the moment I just felt like when Sammy Watkins ran a route that was not a route and came and hit me underneath my chin, I put my hands up and he stood over me and said something to me so I pushed him and next thing I know, someone pushed me from behind. I did not see any flags thrown so at that point I felt like I needed to defend myself from the altercation that was going on after the play. At the end of the day, I apologize for that and it will not happen again.”"
So, in this context, Jack claims he was protecting himself from Robinson who was backing away from the altercation when he was punched in the face. Additionally, he thought that Watkins, who he outweighs by 20 pounds was being too rough, causing him to lose his cool. Got it.
Given his behavior and the fact that he also went after an official, it wouldn’t be surprising if the league levies some sort of punishment against Jack. For now, nothing has been announced.