Referees Found No Video Evidence That Darius Slay Punched Someone Even Though He Clearly Did

Punching isn’t allowed in NFL games, but don’t tell that to Darius Slay Jr. 

The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback was playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, and Pittsburgh was driving toward the end zone. As Slay moved over to provide run support, Steelers tight end Darnell Washington engaged him and started to push him towards the back of the end zone - like, way out the back.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 15: Darnell Washington #80 of the Pittsburgh Steelers fights Darius Slay Jr. #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 15, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The run was over, but Washington felt like blocking Slay all the way to the wall. That would understandably make anyone frustrated, but Slay took his displeasure a bit out of hand. 

Slay proceeded to throw a punch at Washington, with a ref standing pretty close by. However, after these two were separated (along with a bunch of other players who joined the fight), only Washington was flagged for the penalty. 

After the game, the officiating crew and New York said that they didn't observe any punches, even after video review.

"No. No punches were observed on the field. Since we had flags down, it gave New York an opportunity to review the play as well. There was no video evidence of punches observed by the Philadelphia Eagles," referee Alan Eck said in a pool report.

Now look, I’m not going to paint Washington as the innocent party in this scuffle. But at the same time, you can’t throw a punch in an NFL game and not get punished for it. How did the ref miss that punch even with no video review?

Apparently, the Steelers are going to send this clip to the NFL and hope that they discipline Slay after the fact. Frankly, I hope they do. This is the National Football League, not the National Fighting League.