New England Patriots’ LeGarrette Blount fined $18k for Ndamukong Suh facemask

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Jan. 6 (UPI) — Bad blood warmed the visitors locker room at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday even after the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins.

Part of the reason for that was what happened late in the game between Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount and Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

With 3:43 remaining in the contest, Blount had a short run. Suh landed on the back of his legs, but pushed Blount as he was getting off of the ground. Blount jumped to his feet and grabbed Suh’s facemask, ripping off his helmet. The antic earned Blount a penalty flag. It later hit his wallet.

After the game, Blount ranted about Suh being a “dirty player.” On Friday, Blount received a fine for $18,231 from the NFL, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

“Man, it’s a really intense game,” Blount said after Sunday’s win. “Obviously, we’re fighting to get home field advantage. Obviously they’re fighting to knock us out of it. There’s not a lot of guys in the league that like that guy. I don’t even know if there’s a lot of guys on that team that like him.”

“Yeah, he’s a dirty player. He has always been a dirty player, he will always be a dirty player. There’s no room in the game for that. At some point in time, guys have to defend themselves when they’re doing the things he does. Hopefully, you know what I’m saying, there’s something to be said about it. But all in all, he got his [expletive] beat, they lost, he ran in the locker room after the game and we’re good.”

While Suh has an extensive history of incidents, resulting in north of $420,000 in fines and a two-game ban, Blount hasn’t gone without a blemish. He earned notoriety for his postgame punch on Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in 2009, while he was a member of the Oregon Ducks.

Suh responded after the 34-14 loss by saying that “guys are children sometimes.” Blount led the NFL this season with 18 rushing touchdowns.

The Dolphins battle the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1:05 p.m. Sunday in an AFC Wild Card round showdown at Heinz Field. The Patriots are serving a first-round bye, and could play the Dolphins again in the divisional round.