Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger were ejected from Saturday night’s game after a third quarter skirmish.
While the Colts were on offense, it appeared Pittman engaged in some extra pushing and shoving behind the play and leaned in with his helmet. Pittman and Dugger began to tussle, and Pittman got pushed from behind and fell forward on Dugger. The defensive back then took Pittman’s helmet off and gave a shove to his face.
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Michael Pittman (11) of the Indianapolis Colts reacts after an altercation during the third quarter against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 18, 2021, in Indianapolis. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Officials separated the players and ejected both of them.
Pittman finished the game with one catch for seven yards. He was targeted five times. Dugger finished with five tackles, two of them solo stops.
JONATHAN TAYLOR HELPS COLTS TURN TABLE ON PATRIOTS WITH 27-17 VICTORY
Indianapolis won the game, 27-17, fending off a comeback by the Patriots. Jonathan Taylor put together a 67-yard game-clinching touchdown run that put Indianapolis up 27-17 in the fourth quarter.
New England Patriots safety Kyle Dugger (23) tackles Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle (84) during the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts won 27-17. (Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)
Taylor finished with 170 yards on 29 carries and the touchdown.
Indianapolis, which began the season 1-4, is now fully in the NFL playoff hunt with an 8-6 record and three games remaining, including next week's date at Arizona with the Cardinals.
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) is congratulated by Kylen Granson (83) and Eric Fisher (79) after scoring on a 67-yard touchdown run against the New England Patriots Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
"I’m not surprised, our players aren’t surprised," Colts head coach Frank Reich said. "There’s a lot of belief and a lot of conviction in that we have the guys. We have the coaches, we have the process. We say our MO from the start is, if that’s really true, then we’ll play our best football in November and December. We’ll keep getting better, we’ll learn from our mistakes, and we’ll play our best football in November and December."
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"We had a tough schedule early on, we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach well enough, and we’ve learned from it and continued to get better. We’re the five seed. We got to win every one of these games. What we said in there was, ‘Hey, this is a great team win, but this counts for one. It counts for one, that’s it.’ So, we got to dial it back in and get ready to play against, obviously, the best team in the NFL next Saturday."
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