Dyami Brown shoves CJ Gardner-Johnson in front of ref, somehow gets Eagles safety penalized

Eagles fans were left confused on Sunday when Philadelphia safety CJ Gardner-Johnson was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after Washington Commanders wide receiver Dyami Johnson hit him in the helmet after the play. Evidently, fans weren’t the only ones flabbergasted.

After the official threw the flag and pointed at Gardner-Johnson, the former Florida standout tossed his hands up, seemingly bewildered by the call. It’s easy to understand his confusion. Normally, players aren’t penalized for verbal altercations but, instead, the physical results.

Nonetheless, the “norm” didn’t seem to apply in this situation. Now, Gardner-Johnson must recover from the frustrating moment, as the Eagles look to build on their 21-7 lead halfway through the second quarter.

It’s no surprise that Gardner-Johnson was exchanging words with an opposing player. Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Gardner-Johnson was voted the “most annoying player in the NFL” by his fellow NFL players in an annual poll conducted by The Athletic‘s Mike Jones.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the only guy whose trash talk is so nasty he can get punched in the face and the ref STILL flags him and not the guy doing the punching pic.twitter.com/UBB2JoJQZg

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 22, 2024

While many players can run their mouths, few can back up their words. CJ Gardner-Johnson is one of those rare few. He entered the Eagles’ game on Sunday with 57 total tackles, nine passes defended and three interceptions — tied for the 14th-most in the country.

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts ruled out with concussion

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was officially ruled out for the remainder of Sunday’s NFC East divisional showdown vs. the Washington Commanders after suffering a concussion, the team announced. 

Hurts was taken to the locker room after being evaluated for a concussion on the sidelines in the first quarter.

Hurts was hurt on the fourth play of the Eagles’ second offensive series Sunday when he dove head-first at the end of a 13-yard run, his helmet hitting the turf hard as Commanders linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu sandwiched him on the tackle.

Hurts was immediately taken to the sideline to be evaluated for a concussion by team personnel, and backup Kenny Pickett replaced him at quarterback. Pickett capped that drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to AJ Brown to go ahead 14-0 with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter. A 68-yard touchdown run from Saquon Barkley, his second touchdown of the first half, gave the Eagles a 21-7 lead that the Commanders have since cut to 21-14 in the second quarter.

After initial evaluations, Hurts grabbed his helmet and appeared poised to reenter the game, but Eagles officials stepped in and led him to the locker room. Hurts was eventually ruled out of the game midway through the second quarter Sunday.

On3’s Alex Byington also contributed to this article.