Daron Payne addresses sideline fight with Jonathan Allen
Former Alabama teammates and current Washington Football Team defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne got into it on the sideline on Sunday.
The duo expressed their frustration in the first half against the Dallas Cowboys, and cameras caught the moment Allen threw a punch at his longtime teammate.
After the game, Daron Payne shrugged off the incident as a mere squabble amongst “brothers.”
“You got brothers?” Payne asked the media post-game. “You guys fight, right?”
Payne, a first-round draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, confirmed that the two are “all good.”
Frustration boils over with Washington struggles
Frustration was a major part of the Washington sideline on Sunday as the Cowboys opened the game with a barrage of points. After allowing 21 points in the first quarter, Washington scored a touchdown of their own to make it a 21-7 game. From there, the Cowboys continued to score points and entered halftime with a 42-7 lead.
The pair of WFT linemen both played for Alabama and were on the same team for two seasons in 2015 and 2016.
While going over the previous drive on the sideline, Payne appeared to touch Allen in the head. The contact was enough to push Allen to throwing a punch and the pair needed to be separated by teammates.
While tempers continued to flare after the incident, both players were back on the field together for the next defensive drive.
Allen and Payne weren’t apart for long between their college and professional careers. Allen entered the NFL after being selected by Washington with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The next year, Washington used another first-round pick on an Alabama defensive star, picking Payne with the 13th overall pick in 2018.
The loss officially dashed Washington’s playoff chances. Meanwhile, Dallas entered the game with the NFC East title already secured but they continue to fight for higher seeding with the playoffs about to start.
Dallas rewriting records
The Dallas Cowboys notched a unique stat in their beatdown of the Washington Football Team.
The game was the first in Dallas Cowboys‘ history in which an offensive lineman (Terence Steele) and a defensive lineman (DeMarcus Lawrence) scored in the same game.
Five different Cowboys scored touchdowns in the first half, including defensive lineman DeMarcus Lawrence and offensive lineman Terence Steele.
Two more Cowboys are also making splashy headlines with their contributions this year.
In 2021, Micah Parsons became the only rookie in the past 25 years with 75+ tackles and 10+ sacks. He’s currently only 1.5 sacks away from the NFL rookie sack record. That record of 14.5 sacks was set by former Tennessee Titan defensive end Jevon Kearse.
Defensive back Trevon Diggs has been doing serious damage for the Cowboys on defense in 2021, too. In Sunday night’s game against Washington, he snagged his 11th interception of the season. He’s the first Cowboys’ player to intercept 11 passes since Everson Walls did it in 1981.
On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.