Zac Taylor defends Mike Thomas over cheap shot against Dolphins

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor defended Mike Thomas after the receiver was at the center of a couple of special teams penalties on Sunday.

Thomas was penalized twice for hits on punt returns. His second penalty came when he hit Miami Dolphins punt returner Jakeem Grant early, leading to a bench-clearing incident between the teams (video here).

Dolphins head coach Brian Flores was justifiably fuming afterwards, along with Dolphins players.

After the game, Taylor defended Thomas and said the special teams player has “no ill will.”

Bengals coach Zac Taylor on Mike Thomas' two penalties on punt returns: "There's no ill will from Mike Thomas. I promise you that."

— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) December 6, 2020

Even if that’s the case, the excuse won’t fly for the Dolphins. They saw a guy commit two penalties and hit their player hard. They don’t like seeing that regardless of the intent. You can’t really blame them.

Miami won 19-7 in a very heated game that also included this ejection. One Bengals player even tried to follow the Dolphins into their tunnel after the game.