Officials penalized Engram, also ejecting Jaguars rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones for leaving the bench and throwing a punch. Referee Land Clark said in a post-game pool report that no Texans players were penalized for crossing the field to join the altercation because they “were mostly restraining their own players.”
“Obviously Jarrian on our side of it can’t do what he did, either,” Pederson said. “That’s unacceptable as well. The league will obviously send out fines for both players and maybe some others. It’s an emotional football game as it is, but at the same time, you have to be the bigger man in situations like that. It’s just fortunate that nobody else was ejected from the game.”
While Clark said the officials didn’t issue warnings against further action, Allen said, “The coaches told us, ‘The next violent play you’re going to get ejected.”’
Pederson called the incident “unfortunate.”
“I have a lot of respect for [Texans Head] Coach [Demeco] Ryans,” Pederson said. “I know he doesn’t coach his team that way. We don’t coach our team that way. I’m just glad Trevor’s going to be fine.”
The Jaguars, after trailing 6-0 at the time of Lawrence’s injury, rallied twice on Sunday – first tying the game 6-6 early in the third quarter and then cutting a 23-6 fourth-quarter deficit to the final margin with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes by backup quarterback Mac Jones.
“I thought we could have gone one of two ways,” Jaguars center Mitch Morse said. “We could have lost our discipline, or we could have honed in and understood the situation we were in. I thought it was the latter.
“You really do have a brotherhood in this locker room. It was emotionally charged there. You’d be remiss to say it wasn’t. We also understood that you could use that constructively or you can get outside of yourself and then it could have gone worse for us. I thought we did the best we could.”
