DJ Humphries ejected vs. Seahawks after making contact with official

Sunday’s day in the office ended early for Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman DJ Humphries during the Cardinals’ Week 7 matchup on the road versus the Seattle Seahawks.

In the second quarter of the game, Humphries got into a back-and-forth physical altercation with Seahawks’ linebacker Jordyn Brooks following a play. Referees had to get in between the two in an attempt to break up the skirmish, but during the process, Humphries inadvertently struck an official in the head with his arm in a hand-fighting battle with Brooks.

Humphries was ejected from the game as a result to go along with his 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, with Kelvin Beachum now filling in at his left tackle spot in his absence.

This is what DJ Humphries got ejected for.

Getting pushed in the head and missing his return slap pic.twitter.com/seUMPrei51

— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 22, 2023

The entire play as a whole was a bizarre one even outside of Humphries accidentally striking down judge Brian Sakowski and being disqualified from the game.

On the play Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs threw an interception in the end zone, but a roughing the passer penalty on on Seattle linebacker Boye Mafe negated the inception and kept Arizona’s offense on the field.

After the play, a big scuffle broke out highlighted by Humphries and Brooks. Brooks also received an unnecessary roughness penalty on the play, and between all three penalties called the Cardinals received the ball on the Seattle 25-yard line for a first-and-goal after Dobb’s first-and-10 interception was thrown on the 20-yard line.

Between the chaos during and after the play, the Cardinals proceeded to score on the very next play, with Dobbs keeping the ball on a quarterback option and taking it 25 yards to the house for a touchdown. Dobbs’ rushing score gave Arizona a 10-7 lead over Seattle, but the Seahawks retook the lead to enter halftime up 14-10 at the break.

It will be intriguing to see if the loss of Humphries will impact the Cardinals for the remainder of the game. The former first-round draft pick out of Florida from the 2015 NFL Draft was named a Pro Bowler in 2021, and has been a part of an offensive line that’s been excellent at protecting the quarterback this season.

Arizona has allowed just 11 sacks so far this season, tied for second best a league with three other teams behind only the Green Bay Packers. Seattle has been proficient at getting to the quarterback this season with 19 sacks, as the matchup between Arizona’s front line and the Seahawks’ front seven will likely be crucial throughout the remainder of the contest.