49ers WR Jauan Jennings fined by NFL for block on Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs

The Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers Wild Card game saw a lot of penalty flags. Most of them went against the Cowboys – 14 to be exact. Those 14 penalties tied the Cowboys for the most penalties in a playoff game. The miscues cost Dallas 89 yards, matched a season-high, and were the fifth time this year the Cowboys committed more than 10 penalties in a matchup.

The 49ers didn’t play that clean of a game either. San Francisco was called for nine penalties that resulted in 58 yards lost.  But, their flags didn’t seem to come at as innopportune times as the Cowboys’ flags did.

However, there was one moment in the game that didn’t get a flag thrown that clearly deserved it. Despite the referees being “flag friendly,” they missed a clear cheap shot on Trevon Diggs. While the cornerback was running around the field looking for his next move on a defensive play, wide receiver Jauan Jennings went and hit Diggs out of nowhere with the ball nowhere in sight. No flag was thrown.

Almost a week later, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reported that Jennings was fined.

San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings fined by NFL for cheap shot on Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs in Wild Card game

Jennings was fined $3,667 (what a strange number) for the unnecessary block.

Cheap shots like this right in the middle of a game should not be allowed by referees, especially in a game where the officials were otherwise very generous with their yellow flags.

Should Diggs have responded the way he did on the ensuing play? No. Should Diggs have been fined later for taunting? It’s hard to say. But it’s also hard to argue against the fact that the “retaliation” of sorts could have been avoided if the referees threw the flag on Jennings in the first play.

For years, Cowboys fans, players, and even owner Jerry Jones have complained about the referees and their ability to do their job both well and fairly. While being an NFL official can’t be easy, missing blatantly obvious calls like this seems egregious.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is dead wrong about NFL officials

On the heels of a disastrous loss for the Cowboys with heavy playoff implications, Jerry Jones chose a strange time to make a weird statement on officials.