Trent Williams, a left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, was ejected late in the fourth quarter after a spat with Chiefs safety Bryan Cook, who he threw a direct punch at, catching the eye of the referees. Cook allegedly slapped Williams in a physical altercation, leading to a 28-12 win for the Chiefs. Cook was not penalized for the incident, but later stopped to sign an autograph for a young fan as he exited the stadium.
Abad Sunday for the San Francisco 49ers turned ugly late against the Kansas City Chiefs when Trent Williams was ejected for throwing a punch in the Niners’ 28-18 loss.
With 3:03 left in the fourth quarter, Williams fell to the ground while blocking for a screen pass and Chiefs defender Bryan Cook smacked the veteran tackle in the head. Williams then stood up and returned the favor to Cook.
Even with a lengthy stoppage for the referees to discuss the incident, and with Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira saying the NFL’s video office in New York was involved, only Williams was penalized and ejected for the incident. Cook didn’t even receive a flag, although his teammate Christian Roland-Wallace was penalized for a facemask, which offset the 49ers player’s penalty.
Williams didn’t actually leave the field for a few plays. It wasn’t until the end of the two-minute warning that the broadcast showed Williams walking off the field toward the locker room. Several 49ers beat reporters said Williams was chirping with the Chiefs players on his way out, though Fox didn’t show that when they returned from commercial break.
The game was already noticeably chippy a few plays before Williams was ejected. When Kansas City scored to go ahead 28-12, 49ers defender Deommodore Lenoir and Chiefs offensive lineman Wanya Morris were penalized for shoving one another after the play.
This kind of thing is nothing new for Williams, who also threw a punch in a game last season against the New York Giants. However, he was not ejected for that incident.