Thursday Night Football: Refs don't eject Niners LT Trent Williams for throwing punch at end of 1st half
The first half of "Thursday Night Football" between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers ended in chippy fashion. The Niners should probably be grateful it didn't get worse.
As the Niners kneeled out the second quarter with 13 seconds left, their All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams got into a shoving match with Giants defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson. The two players were each issued offsetting penalties for unnecessary roughness, with one more Brock Purdy kneel ending the half.
As the half is ending, Trent Williams & A'Shawn Robinson unnecessary roughness offsetting#NYGiants 6 #49ers 17 2nd pic.twitter.com/igazG0qmOb
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) September 22, 2023
Further replay, however, showed that Williams threw a punch into Robinson's facemask. Such strikes are usually good for an automatic ejection, but the officials either missed the blow or decided it didn't warrant kicking out one of the NFL's top offensive linemen.
This is the punch thrown by Trent Williams at the end of the half. No ejection. #NYGiants #FTTB pic.twitter.com/kt5Q4a0PGH
— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) September 22, 2023
While Williams avoided an ejection, odds are pretty good he'll be seeing a fine from the NFL sometime in the next week.
This kind of stuff isn't exactly new from Williams. He was ejected and fined for throwing Philadelphia Eagles safety K'Von Wallace to the turf during last season's NFC championship game. You might also remember him clocking Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who was on hand Thursday as part of the Prime Video booth, after a playoff game in 2013, leading to another fine.
With Williams remaining in the game, the Niners finished out a 30-12 win to move to 3-0, outgaining the Giants 441-150 and averaging 5.7 yards per rush. Williams is a 10-time Pro Bowler and is coming off back-to-back first-team All-Pro seasons for the Niners.