Washington head coach Ron Rivera missed the sideline kerfuffle behind him on the bench, but NBC cameras caught the scuffle between teammates Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. It didn’t take long for word about the fight to reach Rivera.
“I had no idea about that. I was told about it later, after it happened,” Rivera said, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “I’ve talked to both of them. What my players say to me is really nobody’s business.”
Rivera said the team will not punish either player.
With Washington trailing 28-7, Payne and Allen jawed at each other before Payne stood and poked a finger in Allen’s face. That prompted Allen to throw a punch at Payne. Defensive line coach Sam Mills stepped between the players as other teammates tried to calm tempers.
Allen and Payne played together at Alabama and now have spent four seasons side by side in Washington.
“You got brothers? Y’all fight, don’t you?” Payne said before adding that “it’s all good” between he and Allen.
Allen also downplayed the sideline exchange, saying it doesn’t take “a rocket scientist” to figure out why it happened based on how the game went. Washington lost 56-14 to Dallas.
“When things are going bad like they are, things get heated,” he said. “Shit happens. Brothers fight.”
