Rams running back Steven Jackson picked up a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter of today’s win over the Redskins and then never returned to the field. The Rams never said anything about Jackson being injured, and so it was assumed that Jackson had been benched for the penalty.
But Rams coach Jeff Fisher said after the game that he didn’t bench Jackson: Instead, Fisher explained, Jackson had suffered a groin injury, and he was taken out of the game because of that.
It’s odd that there was no explanation during the game: NFL teams are supposed to announce the status of injured players who leave the game, but the Rams and the announcers on the FOX broadcast apparently had some kind of miscommunication, because the announcers said repeatedly that Jackson had been benched for the penalty, even though he hadn’t been.
The Rams got a good game out of Jackson’s replacement, Daryl Richardson, who carried 15 times for 83 yards after Jackson went out. Richardson, however, fumbled on his very last carry. That’s the kind of thing that really could get Fisher to bench him.