“He needs to be fined!” NFL fans were NOT happy about Fred Warner’s dirty hit on Matthew Stafford

“He needs to be fined!” NFL fans were NOT happy about Fred Warner’s dirty hit on Matthew Stafford

Fred Warner and Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford was bound to be in for a tough fight in the NFC Championship. The La Rams and the San Francisco 49ers simply do not like each other. Tempers would flare in a regular-season game, so with a Super Bowl berth on the line, things were bound to get chippy.

The Niners came into the game sporting a brand of smash-mouth football reminiscent of the old days. A ground and pound offensive style mixed with a very physical defense to beat up on opposing skill players to limit them. While their record didn’t show how good they were, once they arrived in the playoffs, everyone took note of the Niners.

In the end, the game delivered just as advertised. Two teams playing extremely hard and physical in a relatively low-scoring affair. The Rams ended up taking the 20-17 win but they took their fair shots. Matthew Stafford fell victim to one hit that wasn’t very fair.

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Matthew Stafford takes an illegal hit from Fred Warner

Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford

Early on in the game, Matthew Stafford had his team in scoring position and looked to claim the early lead. However, a tipped pass led to an interception at the goalline ending the Rams’ hopes of taking the lead. After the interception, Stafford took an illegal hit from 49ers linebacker Fred Warner but no penalty flags were thrown for it.

https://twitter.com/mybookie/status/1487941216025022464?s=12

It’s blatant as an illegal hit can get. Stafford had nothing to do with the play and there was slight head-to-head contact. What’s more unbelievable is the fact that the officials didn’t even call the penalty. With all the new rules in favor of protecting quarterbacks, they missed a massive hit taken on one of the biggest stages on national television.

While it worked out for the Rams as their defense was able to get a stop and make sure the 49ers couldn’t capitalize on the interception, the sporting world still didn’t take the hit well.

https://twitter.com/rloading_24/status/1487939041316143104?s=12

To Warner’s credit, he apologized for the hit on Matthew Stafford and said he regrets it. He claims it was completely just a spur-of-the-moment action to try and get Stafford out of the way and that was no malicious intent behind it.

While it’s good to see him being responsible for his actions, the hit is still a dirty play that shouldn’t go unpunished. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the NFL slap Warner with a fine for his actions.

Also read: “He is the reason for my success”- Joe Burrow thanked this person after winning the AFC Championship