Just before the ball was snapped, Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan looked toward the Texans’ sideline and yelled, “Watch this.”
And then he attempted to take Andre Johnson’s head off.
This part of the story was relayed by people who were there, and it’s the part that could get lost after Johnson reacted by ripping off Finnegan’s helmet and unleashing a frightening flurry of punches.
Those punches will play well on television, so welcome to 24 hours of ESPN programming. They’ll be condemned for their brutality, dissected for their artistry, used as evidence that violence is out of control in the NFL.
Johnson will get little sympathy, and perhaps he doesn’t deserve any. He’s supposed to be superman, isn’t he?
Never mind that he reacted the way a lot of competitive people would react. He was hit in the face, and he punched back. What would you have done?
These two have been going at one another for years. This is Finnegan’s game. He has made it in the NFL, not because of his size or his speed, but because of his grit.
Does he sometimes cross the line? Absolutely.
“Obviously, he had to do something real bad to get under Andre’s skin,” Texans fullback Vonta Leach said after a 20-0 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. “Andre is a very patient guy.”
Waiting for a ruling
There’s an odd psychology associated with playing in the NFL. Fans want their guys to play with passion bordering on craziness, to be willing to fight until the final gun.
But they’re supposed to be able to turn that passion on and off, to not react to cheap shots. Now the Texans will have a nervous day or two as they await word from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on a fitting punishment for Johnson.
Those punches on television will do him no favors. But Goodell knows the reputation of the two players. Finnegan is always on the edge, always pushing the limits. Meanwhile, Johnson has been perfect.
Am I the hometown columnist defending my guy? Yes, I am.
Andre Johnson is the consummate professional and the poster boy for what every NFL player should aspire to be. He’s among the great wide receivers in NFL history, but he’s also among the great citizens, a humble man with a charitable heart and a burning desire to win.
He apologized to his teammates in the locker room afterwards, and then stood in front of reporters and repeated that same apology about five different ways.
“You never know what’s going to happen with the disciplinary action,” he said. “I may have done something that hurt my team. You’ve known me long enough to know I’m a team guy.”
Finnegan declined to speak with reporters, so Johnson’s version of the fight that occurred midway through the fourth quarter stands uncontested.
“I think that he was frustrated with what was going on during the game,” Johnson said. “He kept doing little things. I told him, ‘Just because you’re frustrated, you need to stop what you’re doing.’ I guess he thought it was funny. He was mad because we had exchanged some words. He tried to jam me because he thought I wasn’t looking. He snatched my helmet off. I snatched his off, and it went from there.
“I just hate that it happened. The biggest thing now is thinking about the disciplinary action. That’s the main thing that’s on my mind.”
This was a victory with layer upon layer of meaning for an emotionally battered football team coming off a pair of defeats that were as bizarre as they were devastating.
‘It only takes one’
Gary Kubiak was able to do what he has almost always been able to do in these situations. He got the Texans to look forward, to play hard, to keep going. Now they’re one game out of first place in the AFC South with five to play, and you can make of that what you will.
If they miss the playoffs, they’ll have no one but themselves to blame. On this day, they dominated a decimated opponent, rushing for 188 yards and controlling the ball for almost 40 minutes.
Afterwards, Brian Cushing said the Texans maybe just needed one play, one game to get turned in the right direction.
“It only takes one to start a streak,” Matt Schaub said. “We know we can go out and play against anybody and win.”
They just haven’t done it with any consistency. Yet. Hope springs eternal.
richard.justice@chron.com
Justice: Texans will have to roll with Johnson’s punches
Just before the ball was snapped, Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan looked toward the Texans’ sideline and yelled, “Watch this.” And then he attempted to take Andre Johnson’s head off.
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