Getty Image / Isaiah Vazquez
Pat McAfee loves to have fun and loves fun football. Between his flagship Pat McAfee Show and his panelist role on College GameDay, he’s always trying to keep things light.
So, it makes sense that McAfee would not like the unsportsmanlike conduct flags that seemingly are being thrown more often this year. After Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb was flagged for one during the Giants-Cowboys Thursday Night Football game, McAfee railed against the calls.
CeeDee Lamb had his best game of the season since signing his contract extension right before the campaign started. He had 8 grabs for 98 yards and this touchdown catch.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1839472812072792221
But, at the end of the play, he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1839472224568242427
That seems pretty soft, frankly. Yeah, he turns back and has some words for him. But, are we really going to legislate plays like that? It seems like a waste of time, especially in a game with as many flags as last night’s game.
Pat McAfee was not pleased with the call, to say the least.
https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1839702212466847902
I completely understand why the NFL would want to take over-the-top taunting out of the game, as it doesn’t play well with fans. But, this was not over-the-top, and should’ve been ignored by the refs.
That being said, the referees weren’t ignoring anything last night. There were fifteen accepted penalties, including 12 in the first half. Legendary commentator Al Michaels was particularly riled up about the amount of penalties caused.
Penalties will likely go down as the year goes on as teams adjust to the way games are being called and as refs start to let things go. Hopefully, they will stop calling unsportsmanlike conduct penalties like this one. Pat McAfee certainly agrees.