The preseason edition of the rematch of Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks has become a bit ugly at times with flags frequently flying and a player ejected.
Seahawks cornerback Tharold Simon was ejected in the third quarter for striking a Denver player after a touchdown run by Kapri Bibbs.
Bibbs fumbled on the play after crossing the plane of the goal line, but the loose ball led to a scrum with several players fighting for the ball. Simon seemingly took offense to Gerell Robinson trying to get into the pile late and pulled him from the fray, which led to shoving back and forth before Simon delivered a somewhat innocuous blow to the Robinson’s face.
Simon was immediately flagged and ejected by the officiating crew. It was Simon’s first NFL game experience of any kind after spending his entire rookie season unable to participate due to injuries.
It was one of many flags thrown so far in the game.
Through three quarters, the two teams had combined for 20 penalties for 196 yards. Included in the total number of penalties have been an unnecessary roughness, a taunting penalty, a chop block and a facemask, in addition to holdings, procedural calls and pass interference penalties.
Despite the focus on Seattle’s secondary and wondering if they could adapt to the changes in emphasis regarding illegal contract and holding on defense, it’s actually been the Broncos that have struggled the most with those fouls.
Even though it’s only preseason, these teams certainly don’t seem to want to get along.
Denver leads Seattle 14-13 through three quarters.