Derek Wolfe Accuses Panthers Offensive Linemen of Targeting
Jack Dempsey/Associated Press
The Denver Broncos' 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night was a hard-hitting affair filled with bad blood, and Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe wasn't pleased with some of the aggressive tactics deployed by the opposition's offensive line.
Speaking to Denver 7's Troy E. Renck, Wolfe called out Panthers right guard Trai Turner for targeting him throughout the night: "He was absolutely targeting me. That's how he is. He should be fined. Write that."
According to Renck, Wolfe was dealing with a sore neck in addition to a sprained ankle that resulted from Turner grabbing his facemask and pushing him into a pile.
"I love good hard football," Wolfe added. "But hitting guys after the play, then if we respond the ref gets on me? If the league cares about player safety, they need to look at the film and see what was going on. They were targeting."
Turner was also slapped with a taunting penalty following the Panthers' first score when he was seen jumping up and down in the face of a Broncos player.
"He should have had three more," Wolfe said of Turner's taunting penalty, per Renck. "He should have been ejected."
To be clear, the league's new policy states that if a player accrues two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in one game, the result will be an ejection.
Wolfe wasn't the only one to get banged up during Thursday night's opener.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was on the receiving end of several vicious hits—some of which were flagged. Newton also caught a couple of shots above the shoulders that weren't called.
"It was a very physical game," he said, according to Max Henson of the team's official website. "It's not my job to question the officials. But it's not fun getting hit in the head."
Based on the way brute force enveloped portions of Thursday night's opener, officials will likely be on high alert the next time the Panthers and Broncos clash.
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