The most viral moment of the Washington Commanders’ 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game came when Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore squared off in the second quarter.
Seemingly locked up in what seemed like a mutual combat situation in the end zone following an Eagles touchdown, Brown ripped Lattimore’s helmet off before the 2 were separated and Lattimore was the only one flagged for unnecessary roughness.
After taking another look at the incident, the NFL came down on Brown and fined him $11,255 for the incident but declined to fine Lattimore.
“He engaged me first … I’m not out there to fight but I will fight if it go there, I stopped when (refs) said stop and he ain’t stop,” Brown said about the incident on a Twitch livestream with influencer JankyRondo on January 27
In April 2024, Brown signed a 3-year, $96 million contract extension with the Eagles that keeps him with the team through 2029.
Brown, a 3-time NFL All-Pro, will play in the Super Bowl for the second time in 3 seasons when they face the Kansas City Chiefs on February 9 in New Orleans.
Lattimore Has History of Epic WR Beef
Lattimore is probably an easy target whenever he plays — and whenever he mixes it up on the field — because of his long and storied beef with Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans.
Evans and Lattimore have one of the truly great player vs. player rivalries in NFL history thanks to years of over-the-top scraps during Lattimore’s 8 seasons playing for the New Orleans Saints and facing the Buccaneers twice a year in the NFC South.
Lattimore and Evans added another chapter to their rivalry after Lattimore, a 4-time Pro Bowler, was traded to the Commanders at midseason and faced Evans and the Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round on January 12.
The week leading leading up to the game was a walk down memory lane for the Evans-Lattimore rivalry and a meme-filled extravaganza looking back on their famous fights.
Brown’s Wild History of NFL Fines
Brown’s history of NFL fines is pretty wild — if you have a sense of humor about it there’s a throughline in them that’s pretty funny as well.
Taken in the second round (No. 51 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft out of Ole Miss by the Tennessee Titans, Brown received 2 separate fines that totaled $19,000 in 2020 for the same act — throwing the ball into the stands.
Traded to the Eagles in April 2022, Brown signed a 4-year, $100 million contract extension with Philadelphia the day of the trade.
In November 2022, Brown was fined $10,609 for taunting Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon after beating their double team for a touchdown catch. One month later, Brown was fined $13,261 for excessive celebration against the Tennessee Titans after he acted like he was spanking the goalpost with his towel after a touchdown catch.
In Week 4 of the 2023 season, Brown was fined $10,927 for taunting Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes after a touchdown on the way to 9 receptions for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 24-8 win by the Eagles.
In the NFC Championship Game, Brown had 6 receptions for 96 yards and 1 touchdown — although he caught that with rookie Mike Sainristil guarding him and not Lattimore.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL Admits Critical Missed Call Against Eagles WR A.J. Brown in Commanders Loss appeared first on Heavy Sports.