If this referee thing doesn’t work out, a certain NFL official could have a future as a bodyguard.
At around the mid-point of the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football’s clash between the Texans and the Seahawks, Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. picked off Vikings QB Sam Darnold. Seattle wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba tried to tackle Stingley, but received a strong stiff-arm to the facemask as the pair careened toward the Houston sideline.
Smith-Njigba was shoved backward onto the Texans’ bench, finding himself in the unenviable position of being helmetless and seated on the opposing team’s bench, surrounded by a bunch of angry players.
Enter field judge Nathan Jones, who sprang into action and bodily shielded Smith-Njigba from the swirling mob of Texans players.
Jones, it turns out, is a former NFL player.
For his part, Smith-Njigba did well not to respond ot the physical and verbal taunts and provocations from Texans players. And that’s a good thing, considering he had already drawn a taunting penalty in the first quarter, and a second such infraction would have resulted in his ejection.
“He knew that another one [penalty] was going to knock him out,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said in his post-game comments. “I originally thought that, but we gotta look at that. It seemed like that was a—I don’t know—It didn’t look good over there. So, I’m glad that he’s okay, and he made a smart decision in that moment.
“That was a really, really poised, smart decision.”
Despite the chaos surrounding him, Smith-Njigba says he wasn’t too riled by it all.
“Nah, I told him I felt comfortable over there,” Smith-Njigba said. “It’s Monday night. Not really worried about anything when it comes to my face and all that.”
Of course, he had some protection.