San Francisco 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings wasn’t approaching Carolina Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig for a handshake and a hug after his team’s 20-9 win on Monday Night Football. Jennings came up to Moehrig and struck him in the face mask with his right hand, then got in a left hand before the two were separated.
It’s unusual to see a fight after a game when the teams come together, but earlier this season, Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch approached Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after a Sunday night game and hit him in the face mask, similar to Jennings’ strike to Moehrig. Branch was suspended for a game.
ESPN showed a replay that gave Jennings a reason for being upset with Moehrig. Late in the game, after Christian McCaffrey had been tackled on a run play, Moehrig punched Jennings below the belt. Clearly Jennings was looking for some retaliation for that cheap shot.
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“I was just responding to, to me, childish behavior,” Jennings said at his locker after the game, which was shown on ESPN. “That’s all it was.”
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t upset at Jennings for confronting Moehrig after the game.
“The guy took a cheap shot and hit him in the balls,” Shanahan said in his postgame media conference. “I was real proud of Jauan for not losing his mind out there.”
Jennings was so incensed that after he struck Moehrig, he was still trying to break free of multiple 49ers staffers holding him back from going after the Panthers safety again, and they brought Jennings to the ground.
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Moehrig’s explanation?
“It ain’t really much to it, bro,” Moehrig told reports in the locker room postgame. “It was just that. Like I said, I’ll take that one. He wanted to do a little dirty stuff, so it is what it is, man.”
The NFL will likely review the altercation, as they did with the Smith-Schuster and Branch incident. Moehrig’s punch during the game will be part of that review. The 49ers hope that the NFL takes that into account, because they don’t need to lose one of their best receivers for a game.
The Niners will face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday; the Panthers face the Los Angeles Rams.
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