INDIANAPOLIS — He protected a teammate involved in a verbal altercation. He clapped in an official’s direction. That, said, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib explained his actions on the Colts’ final drive.
The NFL may see it differently.
Talib faces a potential fine and possible discipline after drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty for poking a finger into Colts tight end Dwayne Allen’s facemask, followed soon after by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his actions toward an official.
“It is what it is. I have no idea what they’re going to do me,” Talib said after the Broncos’ 27-24 loss to Indianapolis. “I’ve seen way worse in the NFL.”
BOXSCORE:
A chippy game became ugly on Indianapolis’ final drive. On second-and-9 from the 15-yard line, Frank Gore rushed for two yards. As the play broke up, Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller and Allen exchanged words.
“We have helmets on. So it was really no head butts. But we did a little chirping. And ‘Lib, the kind of guy he is, he’s not going to let that stuff slide,” Miller told The Post. “That’s the type of team we’ve got.”
Video shows Talib walking up to Miller and Allen. His finger went through Allen’s facemask.
PHOTOS:
“I see him and Von going at it. I was trying to poke him in the head. If I poked him in his eye, it wasn’t intentional,” Talib said. “The (officials) are going to do what they are going to do. We have to play football and not worry about the refs.”
Allen accused Talib of purposefully poking him in the eye. He remained upset after the game. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak admitted Talib has to keep his composure better, but Kubiak was unsure if Talib would be suspended.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know what you are talking about on the second one. I haven’t seen it yet,” Kubiak said.
BESTS/WORSTS:
The Colts faced a tough choice moments later on whether to attempt to run out the clock or kick a field goal. The Broncos made the decision for them when linebacker Danny Trevathan was called for defensive holding, providing Indianapolis with an automatic first down. Talib reacted to the call by clapping in the official’s direction. He said he never made contact with the referee. His actions led to a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“It was a clap,” said Talib, showing reporters what he did to draw the flag. “I was 10 yards away from him just clapping. The stadium got really loud. They called that penalty on Danny. So I just looked at (the official) and I clapped. He didn’t like my look. Maybe I wasn’t in synch with the rest of the crowd.”
Talib left the field after his second penalty. The Colts ran a final play to drain the clock. After the game, Talib sought out the official.
BRIEFS:
“I just went and asked him, ‘Can I clap? I can’t clap? I can’t clap? I guess he didn’t want to give an explanation. He didn’t feel the need, and he don’t have to give me an explanation,” Talib said. “I don’t know if I can clap or not. I am in between. Can I clap or not?”
Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or @troyrenck
