The tackle that New York Jets center Nick Mangold put on New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib that ended up sparking a skirmish between both teams on the sidelines wasn't seen as a dirty play by Talib, according to his comments after seeing it on video.
"I thought he kind of dove a little early. He started to dive when I was inbounds and I kind of went out of bounds at the end of his dive. I didn't see it as dirty," Talib told ESPN. "I haven't seen it too many times, but I'm good. I ain't worried about it."
Though Talib didn't see it as a dirty play, it did start quite the ruckus on the Patriots sideline between New England and some members of the Jets offensive line.
The Patriots (2-0) eventually beat the Jets (1-1), but not without some interesting moments late in the game. Talib recorded his second interception of the game off of Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith, which basically sealed the game for New England late in the fourth quarter. After Talib caught the ball, he ran but didn't go out of bounds immediately. Mangold lunged after him and hit him with a low tackle, knocking him out of bounds to the Patriots sidelines which in turn sparked a bit of a melee between both sides.
A video of the incident can be viewed here.
Talib's belief that the play wasn't dirty coincides with Mangold's statements following the game.
"I made the tackle," Mangold told The New York Daily News following Thursday's game. "He was obviously along the sideline and I thought he was still in inbounds. I thought it was a good tackle and apparently it was not and that's how they saw it and it started a little ruckus. Obviously it's an intense game and an intense rivalry and tempers flare."
The skirmish ended with a 15-yard personal foul call against Mangold and the ejections of Willie Colon and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Ferguson was tossed for throwing punches at some members of the Patriots, and Colon got the boot for pushing a referee in the ensuing scrum between the two teams. Colon said he didn't remember putting his hands on an official and that his competitive nature got the better of him.
"I was tired of losing, and we just can't have it," Colon said per The New York Daily News after Thursday's games. "I don't really remember [what happened] I saw Nick in there and a lot of guys running. I was trying to get in there and help my brother and that's why I reacted the way I reacted."
The skirmish annoyed Bill Belichick who was seen screaming at the Jets during the end of the game.
Talib said he suffered no ensuing injuries following the hit.
"I came out of the game healthy," he told ESPN.
Mangold, Colon and Ferguson are expected to all be fined the league standard of $5,250 for a first-time offense on Thursday, but ESPN reported that Ferguson said he had already been fined but wouldn't disclose the amount while Mangold and Colon's penalties remain unknown.
The Patriots are gearing up for a Week 3 matchup at home Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the Jets will play the Buffalo Bills at home. The two teams square off head-to-head again on Oct. 20, this time at the Jets home of MetLife stadium.
Whether or not any lingering bad feelings will spill out to more violence on the field won't be known until Week 7.
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