James Conner, Talanoa Hufanga Get Into Kerfuffle AFTER 49ers-Cardinals Game
NFL players engage in scraps on the field all the time. Emotions run high during highly-physical competitions. But, players usually let that go after the final whistle blows. On Sunday, though, Arizona Cardinals RB James Conner and San Francisco 49ers DB Talanoa Hufanga weren't ready to listen to Elsa.
The final score didn't look very close as the 49ers beat the Cardinals, 35-16. However, the Cardinals are a scrappy team. Clearly.
Even after trailing 21-3 to one of the NFL's best teams, Arizona fought its way back into the game. They managed to make it 21-16 before San Francisco scored the game's final 14 points.
Most of the offensive production came from Conner's counterpart, Christian McCaffrey, who scored four touchdowns. McCaffrey accounted for over 170 yards from scrimmage in the game.
Conner managed just 56 total yards with no scores. Perhaps that lack of production, along with the loss, led to his temper boiling over after the game. That's when he decided to give Talanoa Hufanga something akin to an aggressive love tap.
James Conner isn't known to be a particularly easy player to set off, so it will be interesting to see what the players say about this. As of now, no one seems to know what might have started this.
It'll also be interesting to see how the NFL responds. There are on-field fights and then there are postgame on-field fights. I think the distinction is important.
Expect fines to come down for both players. Because it didn't rise to the level of actual punches thrown, it's unlikely either player faces a suspension.
But we shall see.