The Buffalo Bills will attempt to recover from a demoralizing defeat last week to the 3-7 Miami Dolphins, a game in which they were never competitive, failing to score at all through three quarters on their way to a 30-13 loss.
The 6-3 Bills host the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also 6-3, in what is certainly Buffalo’s most important game of the season so far — a game that will be televised to most of the country by CBS Sports in Sunday’s 1 p.m. Eastern time slot.
As if the final score were not humiliating enough, Bills three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen, the reigning NFL MVP, suffered what officials during the game decided was an outburst of disrespect from a Dolphins defensive end, on a five-yard sack late in the fourth quarter.
Chubb Hit With Penalty After Allen Sack
Officials threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct on a Miami two-time Pro Bowler, defensive end Bradley Chubb. Specifically, the violation that drew the 15-yard penalty on Chubb was deemed to be taunting.
The call was controversial, because at no point did Chubb appear to say anything to Allen or gesture toward him. Perhaps as a result, the NFL determined that Chubb’s conduct — that game officials felt merited a penalty setting the stage for Allen’s 26-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Jackson Hawes on the very next play — did not also deserve a financial punishment.
As his first taunting penalty of Chubb’s conduct could have cost him $11,593, an amount determined by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
The NFL decision to let Chubb keep his money does not necessarily mean that league officials disagreed with the call made on the field. But the NFL Operations Office reviews all plays, whether flagged or not, and decides independently which deserve disciplinary action in the form of fines.
Officials Demand Players Respect Opponents
So what was Chubb’s offense? Rather than rolling to the side and off of Allen, the seven-year veteran crawled forward moving his body directly over Allen’s face.
“He crawled spread-eagle over Allen, dragging his crotch across Allen, including his face. If his crotch didn’t touch Allen, Chubb certainly gave Allen a good look at it,” wrote NFL rules expert Mark Schultz, explaining the penalty call for the site Football Zebras.
“Officials always tell players to ‘roll off’ other players and then ‘use the ground’ to get back on their feet. This didn’t happen,” Schultz continued, adding that the NFL requires that players refrain from “acts that disrespect an opponent.”
In this case, “officials deemed Chubb’s actions disrespectful and the flag flew.”
Chubb’s Avoids 6th Fine of Career
The NFL has not always been as merciful with Chubb. In fact, the former North Carolina State Wolfpack All-American has been fined five times in his career with the total amount shelled out by Chubb at $72,015.
Allen and Chubb have long been linked in another way as well. In the 2018 NFL draft, the Denver Broncos selected Chubb with the No. 5 overall pick.
Just two picks later, the Bills drafted Allen out of Wyoming — where in 2016 he threw the most touchdown passes in the Mountain West Conference with 28, but also the most interceptions with 15.
Bills’ Division Title Streak at Risk
The Broncos’ then-general manager Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway later said that drafting Chubb over Allen was “probably my biggest mistake of my GM days, was not taking Josh.”
The No. 1 overall pick in 2018 went to the Cleveland Browns who took Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield — now the quarterback for Tampa Bay who will be trying to put a damper on Buffalo’s hopes of winning the AFC East this season.
According to a statistical model created by The Athletic, a loss to the Bucs Sunday drops Buffalo’s chances of a sixth-straight divisional title to just five percent.
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