New York Giants fans were left baffled over NFL officials decision not to eject San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams from Thursday night’s game after throwing a closed-fist punch at defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson just before halftime.
However, as NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Walt Anderson later explained, officials did not see it as an eject-worthy offense.
George Kittle, #85, Trent Williams, #71, and Fred Warner, #54 of the San Francisco 49ers, on the sideline before the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 17, 2023 in Inglewood, California. The 49ers defeated the Rams 30-23. (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
The scuffle happened in the second quarter as the Niners attempted to take a knee to run out the clock. Robinson appeared to shove Williams and guard Aaron Banks, prompting both players to respond by pushing him.
49ERS’ TRENT WILLIAMS APPEARS TO THROW PUNCH ON GIANTS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN; AVOIDS EJECTION
Robinson returned the shove to Williams, leading to the punch.
“When we have a flag thrown on the field for unnecessary roughness, members of the officiating department are able to review available video, Rule 19, to determine if there is a flagrant action that should result in a disqualification,” Anderson told a pool reporter after the game.
“We ended up looking at the video we had available to us, and we just didn’t see anything that rose to the level of flagrant, which is the standard that we have to apply to disqualify the player.”
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, right, celebrates his touchdown with offensive tackle Trent Williams during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Offsetting penalties were called, but Williams was not ejected.
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Anderson went on to explain that despite the angle shown during the broadcast, NFL officials could not make the call that the punch “rose to the level of flagrant” based on the video they had available to review.
“In the video that we ended up reviewing, and in a lot of these primetime games, there is often a whole lot of camera angles, from the ones that we looked at, we just felt that it didn’t rise to the level of flagrant.”
He continued, “We couldn’t confirm that 100 percent from the standpoint of was it truly a closed fist with a strike, we just couldn’t determine that.”
Trent Williams, #71 of the San Francisco 49ers, reacts prior to a preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 13, 2023 in Las Vegas. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Williams told reporters in the locker room after the game he did not expect to get a fine based on the incident.
“It’s a lot of tempers flaring out there. It’s a competitive game, sometimes things boil over a little bit,” he said. “It was a love tap, it wasn’t that hard.”
