No punches were pulled on "Thursday Night Football," and definitely not from Trent Williams.
The 49ers pulled out to a 17-6 lead over the Giants prior to halftime on "TNF," dominating the matchup over Big Blue. While they were leaving the Giants black and blue, one 49ers player maybe took that a bit literally.
San Francisco offensive lineman Trent Williams and Giants D-lineman A'Shawn Robinson had a little bit of a dust-up with the half nearing its end, when a Robinson bullrush on a kneel-down play seemed to peeve the 49ers a bit.
Robinson and Williams would exchange pleasantries, leading to a little Robinson pie face, and a Williams punch to Robinson's grill.
As the half is ending, Trent Williams & A'Shawn Robinson unnecessary roughness offsetting#NYGiants 6 #49ers 17 2nd pic.twitter.com/igazG0qmOb
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) September 22, 2023
MORE: Why did the 49ers trade Trey Lance?
A closer look shows that Williams — retaliating against the Robinson blow — landed a punch right on Robinson's facemask.
Trent Williams just punched A'Shawn Williams in the face lmao pic.twitter.com/TgaxaZJ5fX
— Alex Wilson (@AlexWilsonESM) September 22, 2023
While the play resulted in offsetting unnecessary roughness penalties, it did not result in an ejection, which is what some were calling for, and were confused why it didn't happen.
Why wasn't Trent Williams ejected for punch?
The NFL rulebook doesn't state that a player who throws a punch should be automatically ejected, though that is something that some referees have taken into their hands in instances past. Here's what the rulebook says, in Section 4, Article 1:
In addition to any penalty referenced elsewhere in the Official Playing Rules, a player will be automatically disqualified if that player is penalized twice in the same game for committing one of the unsportsmanlike conduct fouls listed below, or a combination of the fouls listed below:
- Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made. …
The player will be automatically disqualified regardless of whether the penalty is accepted or declined by the opponent. The fouls do not have to be judged by the official to be flagrant for the automatic disqualification to occur, and any foul that occurs during the pregame warm-up period will carry over into the game. Nothing in this section supersedes the Game Official’s discretion to judge a foul to be flagrant and disqualify the player based on one occurrence.
MORE: Has Brock Purdy lost a game?
That last part is the important part: It's up to the referee to determine whether or not a player should be thrown out on one instance, though a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty will get one or both of Williams and Robinson ejected.
A little bit of pushing and shoving ensued after the Williams punch, but the situation didn't escalate.
Of course, it's not the first time that Williams has thrown a punch. In a bit of irony, Williams famously decked then-Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman a decade ago. Sherman now resides on the Amazon "TNF" booth.
The 49ers are hoping they have a little bit more punch in them in the second half to close out the Giants, and not in the literal sense.