Packers cornerback Charles Woodson was surprisingly not ejected on Thursday night after punching Saints tight end David Thomas.
Thomas blocked Woodson on a running play, and Woodson seemed to think Thomas was continuing to block after the play was over. So Woodson hauled off and delivered what announcer Cris Collinsworth called “an uppercut down low.”
It initially appeared that Woodson punched Thomas in the groin, although replays showed that he actually connected to Thomas’s abdomen. Either way, punching an opposing player usually results in an ejection, and it’s surprising that the officials let Woodson keep playing. The Packers were assessed a 15-yard penalty for Woodson’s punch.
Saints coach Sean Payton was gesturing to the officials that they should kick Woodson out of the game, and former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira wrote on Twitter that Woodson should have been ejected. They’re right: Woodson is extremely lucky that he wasn’t thrown out.