Brandon Marshall did battle with veteran cornerback Byron Maxwell on Sunday, and the New York Jets wide receiver came out of the game with very little respect for his opponent.
After New York’s 27-23 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Marshall was highly critical of the way Maxwell tried to defend him.
“I was able to get four penalties, maybe three or four, maybe even five penalties called,” Marshall said, according to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “I think I did an amazing job of keeping my emotions in check, but taking the game to him. (Maxwell) was exactly who I thought he was. He’s a holder. He’s a grabber. That’s not how you play football.”
Marshall caught just six passes for 45 yards, but he obviously feels he got the best of Maxwell because of the flags. The two were seen jawing at each other on numerous occasions, and Marshall admits all kinds of unpleasantries were exchanged.
“Everything,” he said when asked what he told his counterpart. “‘Stop holding,’ pretty much. ‘Stop holding.’ He gets paid way too much money to play like that. He needs to believe in himself, and he needs to practice. That’s what I was saying.”
On one particular play, Marshall felt Maxwell got away with a key hold that would have been called if Ryan Fitzpatrick threw the ball in that direction.
“I think it was third-and-short, and I saw man-to-man (coverage) and No. 41 again holding me, and that could’ve been a huge play for us,” Marshall said. “The refs usually don’t call that if the ball is not coming. So, if the ball would have came my way on that particular call, we probably would have gotten a pass interference or a defensive holding, so that was a missed opportunity for us.”
In the end, the Jets won. Maxwell probably doesn’t care how many flags he draws or how upset Marshall was with his defensive tactics. You have to wonder if Marshall’s thoughts on the state of his team have changed from where they were at a few weeks ago.
