San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings has said he threw a punch at Carolina Panthers safety Tre'Von Moehrig at the end of Monday night's game after what he described as a 'cheap shot' from his opponent. Television cameras captured Moehrig striking Jennings in the groin late in the 49ers' 20-9 victory at Levi's Stadium.
Jennings did not retaliate immediately, but after the final whistle he approached Moehrig, hitting him in the helmet and shoving him before being held back by teammates as the teams left the field. 'I was just responding to some childish behaviour,' Jennings said.
Moehrig claimed his punch was a response to physical play after the whistle and trash talking throughout the game. 'He was pushing me in the back and stuff, so, you know. That's really all it was,' Moehrig said. 'There really isn't much to it. It was just that, you know what I'm saying? Like I said, I'll take that one. He wanted to do a little dirty stuff, so … It is what it is man.'
On Tuesday, the NFL suspended Moehrig for one game without pay. Jennings, known for his aggressive blocking and running style, was ejected last season after a scuffle with Arizona Cardinals cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting. He said he was surprised by the groin punch. 'It was just out of nowhere,' Jennings said. 'It's probably just the history of me playing ball. I play hard. I'm physically stronger than a lot of DBs out there. A lot of things happen in between the whistle with me at least.'
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan called Moehrig's actions a 'cheap shot' and praised Jennings for his restraint. 'I was real proud of Jauan for not losing his mind out there and getting to the sideline,' Shanahan said. Panthers coach Dave Canales said he would address the incident with Moehrig. 'I'll get to the bottom of that. I want to see what exactly happened. I haven't had a chance to talk to Tre about that yet. That will be a conversation that I'll dig into,' Canales said.
