Trash talk is part of football. But when you spit at an opponent, you have really crossed the line. C.J. Gardner-Johnson handed the Las Vegas Raiders a gift Sunday, and the NFL sent him the bill Monday.
The league suspended the Buffalo Bills safety one game without pay for spitting toward Raiders players late in the first half of Buffalo's 33-30 win at Allegiant Stadium.
The punishment fits the act, but the Raiders have more reason to wince than celebrate. They got the better end of the exchange, played the entire second half against a Bills secondary without him and still lost.
What happened before halftime
The trouble started after an incomplete pass from Kirk Cousins to Tre Tucker with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, a play that drew a defensive holding flag on Bills cornerback Davison Igbinosun. CBS cameras then caught Gardner-Johnson spitting as Brock Bowers turned toward the huddle, and referee Shawn Smith said after the game that umpire Tra Blake witnessed the whole thing.
"I don't even know," Bowers said after the game. "We were just talking a little bit and then ... I don't know."
Cousins was busy getting the next play call while the officials marched off the yardage.
"I don't know what happened, I just know we got much better field position, and that was really all I had time to think about," Cousins said.
Matt Gay turned that field position into a 27-yard field goal as time expired, which tied the game 13-13 at halftime.
Kubiak's pregame warning held up
Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said he didn't see the spit itself, but he praised his players for not retaliating against a safety who has built a career on getting under opponents' skin.
"We knew going in, you know, there are certain guys that are going to try to do that to us, and the players knew before the game that if they got into it, they'd be standing by me on the sideline," Kubiak said.
The Raiders have been flagged more often during their three-game skid than during their 3-0 start, so keeping their cool in that moment counts as a win for a team that hasn't had many lately.
What the suspension costs Gardner-Johnson
The Bills have a bye this week, so the suspension begins Oct. 26 and would cost Gardner-Johnson the Nov. 1 home game against the Baltimore Ravens. He has the right to appeal the suspension.
Buffalo is Gardner-Johnson's sixth franchise in eight seasons, and he signed there on a one-year deal. He was also ejected after two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Washington Commanders on Dec. 22, 2024.
"It can't happen," Bills coach Joe Brady said Monday. "That's not what we're about. That's not what the game of football is about, and he knows that."
"As a vet, I'll be better," Gardner-Johnson said after the game, having apologized to his teammates. “I love this game, I respect this game, and I will always protect the integrity of this game,” he said. “My actions will speak louder than my words moving forward.”
The Raiders lost by three points, and the field goal his ejection helped set up was the last time they scored until the fourth quarter.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Bills' C.J. Gardner-Johnson suspended one game for spitting at Raiders