Shock Eruption: Commanders’ Daron Payne Ejected for Helmet Punch in Stunning Lions Blowout!

Daron Payne’s Sunday didn’t just unravel—it exploded right off the bat during the Washington Commanders’ crushing 44-22 defeat against the Detroit Lions. In a moment that left fans and analysts alike stunned, Payne abruptly landed a punch on Lions’ wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s facemask, leading to his immediate ejection from the game. But the repercussions didn’t end there. The NFL swiftly issued a one-game suspension, underscoring the seriousness of Payne’s actions and sending shockwaves through the Commanders’ fragile locker room. With the team reeling from injuries and mounting losses, this incident feels like a vivid symptom of a deeper malaise gripping a franchise that tasted success just last season. As Payne contemplates an appeal amid an atmosphere thick with tension and frustration, the question looms: can Washington right the ship before it sinks further? LEARN MORE

Daron Payne was ejected from the Washington Commanders’ blowout 44-22 loss to Detroit early on Sunday afternoon after he punched Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown suddenly in the facemask.

That wasn’t the worst of Payne’s punishment. On Monday, the league announced the defensive tackle would be suspended one game for his actions.

After Jahmyr Gibbs ran in a 13-yard score in the second quarter at Northwest Stadium, Payne turned and threw a right hook at St. Brown and connected square in the helmet. It’s unclear what led to that incident or what was said between the two players ahead of time.

It didn’t escalate much after that, but officials quickly hit the Commanders’ defensive tackle with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected him. The penalty moved the Lions up closer after the touchdown, too, and set up an easy 2-point conversion run from David Montgomery. That put the Lions up 22-3 at the time.

Payne, in his eighth season in the league, is among the highest-paid players on the team. He signed a four-year, $90 million extension with the franchise ahead of the 2023 season. The 28-year-old, whom the Commanders took with the No. 13 overall draft pick out of Alabama in 2018, entered Sunday with 30 total tackles and one sack this season. He did not have a tackle before he was ejected Sunday.

Payne can, and likely will, appeal the decision. His teammate, linebacker Frankie Luvu, was able to successfully get his one-game suspension reduced to just a fine after he appealed the decision to the league. Luvu, however, was suspended for a hip-drop tackle, not a punch. That could make it much harder for Payne to win his appeal.

While punching a player is never a good idea, especially when they are wearing a helmet, it’s not hard to understand why Payne may have been frustrated. The Lions had built up a quick 14-3 lead before Gibbs’ score midway through the second quarter, and then rolled to the 22-point win without any issue in the second half. They scored on their first eight drives and handed the Commanders a fifth straight loss.

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Washington is without quarterback Jayden Daniels after he went down with a gruesome elbow injury in garbage time of last week’s blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Marcus Mariota wasn’t awful replacing him Sunday — he went 16-of-22 passing for 213 yards with two touchdowns — in the loss. But still, as Payne’s ejection showed, things aren’t going well inside the Commanders’ locker room. It’s been a rapid downfall for the team that went 12-5 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season.