Trailing 27-24 with time running down in the fourth quarter, the Denver Broncos were in a precarious situation. Aqib Talib made it exponentially worse when he drew a personal foul for poking Dwayne Allen in the eye.
Broncos CB pokes opponent in the eye, draws one of the dumbest penalties of the year
Allen and Von Miller got into a confrontation before Talib came running over and stuck his hand right in Allen’s face. There is no doubting the intent there as Talib went straight for the eye with two fingers.
While the play would be reprehensible without any context, it becomes shockingly stupid when you look at the impact it had. The Colts had just picked up 2 yards on a second-and-9 to leave a third-and-7 with 2:24 remaining. The clock would have run down to the two-minute warning, but Denver would have likely had a good chance to get the ball back. Instead, Talib gifted the Colts a first down and thanks to another penalty later in the drive, the Colts simply ran the clock out.
After the game, Talib said his intention wasn’t to poke Allen in the eye and said he didn’t even realize that’s what he did. Via The Indianapolis Star:
When told it appeared on video he poked Allen in the eye, Talib said, “Oh, you probably know better than me.” When asked if it was intentional he responded, “Oh, man. You think I play football to poke people in the eye? It was an honest mistake. I tried to poke his head, then he kind of went back or something. (It) happens fast. I don’t know.”
He also accused Allen of overacting to sell the penalty.
#Broncos CB Aqib Talib said #Colts TE Dwayne Allen "acted like he was in a 17-, 18-car wreck" on penalty at end of game.
— Jason Cole (@JasonColeBR) November 9, 2015 “Obviously he’s got to keep his composure out there at the end of the game,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game. “The game gets chippy and both sides are talking and you have to handle your business. So that’s on me and I’ve got to make sure that when he’s out there, he’s got to handle his business.”
Talib struggled with off-field incidents early in his career, but hasn’t been fined for on-field conduct often. His last fine came more than a year ago when he drew a $8,268 charge for a late hit on Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in September 2014.
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