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The Detroit Lions had an all-around awful Sunday. They were thoroughly outplayed by the New England Patriots, and their 34-9 loss dropped them from second to seventh in the NFC playoff standings. Understandably, some Lions players were quite upset with how everything transpired, especially after the Patriots added insult to injury with a late LeGarrette Blount touchdown run.
Following the touchdown, the Lions got the ball back and briefly made an attempt to put something together on offense despite the game virtually being over. During the course of this, Lions center Dominic Raiola started to take out his frustrations with some extremely dirty plays:
We just watched Dominic Raiola punch Zach Moore twice on the final drive. Curious to hear Jim Caldwell's reaction in a few min.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) November 24, 2014
Punching someone in the back of the head is one way to make sure they don't get to your QB, for sure: http://t.co/GR1Z9pJf9p
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) November 24, 2014
As if punching someone wasn't bad enough, Raiola took a cheap shot on a Patriots defensive lineman when the Lions finally threw in the towel and took a knee to end the game (via SB Nation):
To make matters worse, Raiola flat out admitted that his actions were in response to the Patriots scoring a touchdown on the previous drive. Raiola felt that New England was running up the score by going for another touchdown. However, he's seemingly forgetting that the Patriots had already settled for a field goal before their drive was kept alive by a C.J. Mosley cheap shot.
In any case, it's simply a bad look for Raiola and the Lions, and Jim Caldwell confirmed that the NFL is reviewing Raiola's actions. Caldwell also confirmed that the Lions aren't going to discipline Raiola, and he said this:
Caldwell on Raiola: "He and I talked, we addressed the issue. He knows how we like to do things here. That's the end of story."
— Tom Leyden (@TomLeyden) November 24, 2014
It remains to be seen what kind of discipline, if any, Raiola will receive from the NFL. A fine seems more likely than a suspension, but that's just speculation on my part. I suppose the fact that Raiola committed multiple questionable acts on the Lions' final drive could persuade the NFL to go a step beyond simply fining him.
One thing that is for certain is that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick got the last laugh on Raiola and the Lions:
Belichick was asked about Raiola right off the top, and he didn't disappoint pic.twitter.com/o74a2JPFcD
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) November 24, 2014
Quite simply, this was a pathetic finish to a pathetic game for the Lions. If you don't want a team to run up the score on you, don't get into a position where that's possible. And instead of responding with cheap shots, why not use that anger and frustration as motivation to play better in your next game? Just a thought for Raiola, who has seemingly made a habit of letting his temper get the best of him over the years.
UPDATE: Dave Birkett reports that Raiola is "not subject to suspension." In other words, the only punishment on the table from the NFL is a fine.
UPDATE II: It appears a decision has already been made by the NFL:
#Lions OL Dominic Raiola will not be fined for his antics against the #Patriots, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 24, 2014