The New Orleans Saints put a lot of responsibility on Cameron Jordan’s shoulders. The veteran defensive end is one of the most-experienced and longest-tenured players one the team, and his status as a captain makes him someone to rally around and look to for example.
So his unnecessary roughness penalty against Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen was uncharacteristic to say the least. Jordan is a former Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee recognized throughout the NFL for his sportsmanship and clean style of play, but this incident on Sunday hurt his team, his reputation, and Allen’s face.
When Saints linebacker Demario Davis spun Allen around for a sack on a long third down to force Carolina to punt the ball away, Jordan jumped into the fray to try and strip the ball from Allen’s arms. Except he did so after an official’s whistle had blown the play dead. And when Jordan punched at the ball, he missed and struck Allen’s facemask, sending the quarterback reeling as Davis threw him down.
“Gotta hear that whistle,” Jordan wrote from his official Twitter account after the game. “That’s on me gotta hear that whistle.”
Sheesh! Gotta hear that whistle… was trying to punch the ball out and make a big play ended up costing my defense… that’s on me gotta hear that whistle…
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) November 24, 2019
It was an ugly moment for sure, and the Panthers capitalized on the opportunity (Jordan was hit with a 15-yard personal foul, granting Carolina a fresh set of downs from their own 44-yard line). Fortunately, Jordan’s Saints were able to end the game on a high note and send the Panthers home with a loss.
These two teams will play again during the Week 17 regular season finale; hopefully Jordan and his teammates can avoid more mistakes after drawing a dozen fouls for 123 penalty yards in what was very nearly an upset.
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