Trevon Diggs fined by the NFL after unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
Dallas Cowboys star cornerback Trevon Diggs found his name in the headlines for a play he made last week, and it wasn’t the interception. Diggs was fine after smacking a Patriots wide receiver in the face mask after a play last week.
On a first-and-10 from the Cowboys’ 39-yard line, the New England Patriots Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for three yards. Left of the tackle, you can see Diggs involved in a shoving match with Patriots’ receiver N’Keal Harry. Shortly after the whistle was blown, Diggs slaps Harry right in the face mask; prompting the nearest referee to throw his flag. That slap will cost the corner a total of $7,981, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The NFL has been aggressively cracking down on unsportsmanlike conduct counties this season. They are putting more of an emphasis on cleaning up unnecessary actions that take place during a game. The biggest change with unsportsmanlike penalties is the emphasis on taunting. At the beginning of the season, the increase in taunting penalties was a hot-button topic throughout the league.
Digg is making history
Although Digg did cost his team 15 yards and a first down, he still had a good game against the patriots. Best of all, he was able to continue his NFL-leading interception streak in the game. Diggs got his seventh interception of the season against the New England Patriots, and his second pick six of the year. Diggs’ interception tied Hall of Famer Rod Woodson as the only two players who have recorded seven interceptions through six games.
After recording six picks in the Cowboys’ first five games, Diggs joined the Cowboys’ record books. He became the second player in franchise history to record an interception in each of the Cowboys’ first five games, joining only Don Bishop in 1961. In Sunday’s 35-29 win over the Patriots, Diggs logged another interception — this one, a game-changing pick-six — and made history once again: Diggs is now the first player in the Super Bowl-era to record at least seven interceptions with multiple pick-sixes during the first six games of a season. The 2020 second-round pick out of Alabama was named September’s NFC Defensive Player of the Month just three weeks ago, and opposing quarterbacks are still throwing his way.
Diggs is an early-season candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. He has been a ball-hawk and has played the corner position at an elite level. But the Dallas Cowboys would prefer for their star not to get fined. And certainly, he’d like to keep his money in his pocket.