The Buffalo Bills notched a 33-30 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, but they had to play the second half without safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson after the veteran defensive back was ejected just before halftime after he was caught spitting toward Raiders players.
After the game, Gardner-Johnson never fully admitted that he actually spit on an opponent, but he admitted that he let his emotions get the best of him and that he hurt his team. He also said that he’ll take whatever consequences come his way.
Ejected for Spitting
With just a few seconds left in the second quarter, officials took an unusually long time to sort out a penalty before announcing an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Gardner-Johnson, who was then ejected.
Replays showed the veteran safety spitting toward Raiders center Tyler Linderbaum and tight end Brock Bowers.
“J.J., your speculation was correct,” CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said after J.J. Watt guessed that spitting was the reason, via Awful Announcing. “This is about as disrespectful as it gets.”
This is the second ejection of Gardner-Johnson’s career. The first came in 2024, when he was tossed for two personal fouls against the Washington Commanders.
‘I Let My Emotions Get Above Me’
After the game, Gardner-Johnson took responsibility for the ejection, saying that he let his emotions get the best of him in the moment.
“I’ve got to be a better player, I’ve got to be a better vet,” Gardner-Johnson said, via WGRZ’s Jon Scott. “I let my emotions get above me, and I hurt my team. They brought me here to play in big games like this. So I’ve got to do better and control my emotions, nothing crazy.”
When he was asked specifically whether he spit on an opponent, however, Gardner-Johnson didn’t give a direct answer.
“I’ve got to control my emotions,” Gardner-Johnson said. “It was nothing towards competitive. We just — like I said, heat of the moment. Everybody saw what was going on. It wasn’t nothing egregious against nobody. Like I said, we was just competing in the game. A call was made, a flag was made. We went to chirping.”
Gardner-Johnson added that it was “nothing towards [Raiders tight end] Brock [Bowers] and nothing towards the team,” and that he has to accept the punishment.
“You’ve got to take it on the chin like a grown man, and understand that you can’t be doing [stuff] like that in a game,” Gardner-Johnson said. “No matter how passionate I am, I just can’t be doing [stuff] like that in the game. I cost my team. A player to go down, which is me, as a vet. I’ll be better. I’ll take my consequence as it is. A fine, whatever it may be.”
Gardner-Johnson could be facing more than just a fine once the league reviews the play.
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