Tempers flared well before kickoff of Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills, and one Pats player is furious with the way the opposing team carried itself.
Speaking about the pregame scuffle that seemed like it was started by Bills safety Robert Blanton for no apparent reason, Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola told WEEI on Monday that the incident really got under his skin.
“It pissed me off to tell you the truth,” Amendola said. “I’m not going to forget about that.”
The scrum broke out when Blanton shoved Jacoby Brissett after the Patriots quarterback and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell jogged toward Buffalo’s sideline as part of their pregame routine. Mitchell immediately stuck up for Brissett and pushed Blanton back, and coaches and players had to separate the two. You can see a video of the incident here.
Had it been Amendola who was jogging alongside Brissett, the veteran says he would have had the same reaction as Mitchell.
“He did the right thing. I would have done the same thing,” Amendola said. “I wish I could have been there, too. … “I saw that video this morning and it pissed me off to tell you the truth — pushing coaching and [stuff] like that.”
Of course, Blanton would later say he believes the Bills proved they are more disciplined and a better team than the Patriots. He also made it seem like New England deserved to be dragged into the shoving match.
Without more video of what happened, we can’t say exactly what set Blanton off. But based on what we saw, it seemed like Brissett was minding his own business. It’s no surprise Amendola reacted the way he did.
