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New York Giants rookie wide receiver Kadarius Toney had a breakout game on Sunday against Dallas, catching 10 of his 13 targets and racking up 189 receiving yards.
It was a Giants rookie record, breaking the mark of 185 yards set by Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Philadelphia in 2014. It was also the highest total by a Giants receiver since Beckham had 222 yards against Baltimore in 2016.
Toney’s total could have been more had he not been tossed for a throwing a punch with 6:06 remaining in the fourth quarter during a scuffle with Cowboys’ defensive back Damontae Kazee.
Toney lost his cool after getting roughed up and realizes that he shouldn’t get baited into such situations. He said he apologized to the coaches and his teammates.
“I felt like I needed to apologize to mainly everyone, because as far as little kids looking up to me and stuff like that, it’s not the example I want to set for them, you know what I’m saying?” Toney told reporters. “I feel like, everybody makes mistakes and stuff like that, but at the end of the day we always have to be accountable for our emotions and our actions also.”
Toney knew what he did was wrong and that it could lead to his disqualification, which it did.
“It’s more of a moral thing, at the end of the day. I know right from wrong,” Toney added. “At the end of the day, I know that in this sport, it’s not boxing or hockey or anything else where you can just fight and stuff like that. At the end of the day, I’ve got to take responsibility for what I did and that’s just what it is. If it was a wrong action, that’s just how I look at it.”
Giant fans didn’t mind Toney standing his ground after getting pushed to the ground in what was an unnecessary move by Kazee.
“It’s really more of a mentality,” Toney said. “It’s about how you respond –like anything could have happened to anybody on the team, but it’s about how they respond. During that moment, it was more of a — me, I’m a dog. That’s the mentality I have. So, if I feel like I could push through it, then that’s what I’m going to do. At the end of the day, I want to do what’s best for the team because I like winning.”
Toney also sent a public apology on Twitter.
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