Atlanta Falcons pass rusher Matthew Judon appeared to have retaliated against a rival fan’s trash talk in shocking fashion on Sunday.
The Falcons’ playoff hopes suffered a blow on Sunday night when Atlanta fell 30-24 to the Washington Commanders in overtime in Week 17.
But tensions already appeared to be rising even before the high-stakes clash began.
Judon was caught apparently slamming a fan’s phone outside his home after he was heckled from the sidelines.
In a video shared on social media, Falcons players could be seen leaving the field and heading toward the tunnel after concluding their pregame warmups.
Matthew Judon appeared to have retaliated for a rival fan’s trash talk in a shocking way.
The pass rusher appeared to hit a fan’s phone after being interrupted on the sideline
Washington Commanders fans could be heard off-camera calling out first for Judon’s teammate Josh Woods.
The linebacker turned and shouted something intelligible to the spectators after they called out to him, but continued heading toward the tunnel.
Judon followed closely, but was unable to remain calm as successfully. Chewing on his mouthguard, the outside linebacker staggered toward the group of fans, poking his face into the camera.
He then escalated the situation further when he apparently slammed the phone into the hand of a fan who was filming the incident, causing the footage to become disoriented.
The fan laughed at the incident, while Judon appeared to have continued walking off the field.
Judon recorded four tackles and a sack on Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, setting up second-and-30 for Washington.
However, their efforts were ultimately in vain as the Falcons suffered a loss at Northwest Stadium after head coach Raheem Morris mismanaged the clock several times.
Morris refused to use all three of his timeouts late in the first half before settling for a field goal. He had two left in the final minutes of regulation before Riley Patterson’s 56-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left fell short.
The linebacker sacked Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The loss gave a boost to their NFC South rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated the Carolina Panthers earlier in the day.
Atlanta now needs help from other parts of the league to reach the postseason with one game left in the regular season.
The Falcons can only make the playoffs if they beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and the Buccaneers are beaten by the New Orleans Saints.
If the Saints can’t deliver, then Judon and his Falcons teammates will start their offseason early.