Von Miller calls his penalty a ‘crucial mistake’

Von Miller’s game against the Bills Sunday looked pretty good statistically.

One sack for a 7-yard loss plus six tackles, one hit on the QB, six total pressures and two run stops.

But also - one very costly penalty.

With just under eight minutes to go in the game and Denver down by a touchdown, Von Miller got to Tyrod Taylor just milliseconds after he let go of the ball, knocking him to the ground.

In a third-grade prank, Miller pretended to help Taylor up, only to pull the “too slow” move at the end. Then with a “gotcha” kind of laugh, Miller and Taylor enjoyed a little chuckle.

Until the ref threw the stupidest yellow flag in the history of stupid flags.

Unsportsmanlike conduct.

What seemed like a harmless, having-a-little-fun-during-the-game move, gave the Bills a first down and 15 more yards, keeping the drive alive for another four-and-a-half minutes.

Taylor and his Rick Dennison-led offense dwindled down the clock before kicking a field goal, and for all practical purposes, putting the game out of reach.

After the game, Miller took the high road and didn’t complain about the penalty but rather himself for not being smarter.

“I just… I killed us,” he said. “That mistake, it really put us over the top. There was really no coming back from that.”

Miller added that he “made a crucial mistake.”

“I’m always on the plus side, I’m always thinking ahead on how to put my teammates and my team when they have possession in great situations,” he said. “I’ve got be better than that. I really wasn’t thinking.”

Broncos fans were outraged, of course, and many sports writers/analysts erupted with anger on Twitter over a call that seemed so silly in the scheme of things - especially true unsportsmanlike conduct.

The most aggravating thing about rules sometimes is that even if an action follows the letter of the law, common sense and context need to be considered.

Was this really “unsportsmanlike” according to the rule?

Yeah, probably.

Did the situation really meet the level of poor conduct the NFL is trying to prevent in order to have a game that is civilized, competitive and fun?

Absolutely not. In fact, that yellow flag was basically a big red flag that the NFL is trying so hard to micromanage a game of unpredictability that it has gotten in over its head and is too afraid.

I personally despise “political correctness” debates because they generally devolve into personal attacks and don’t consider that everyone starts with a different set of beliefs on what is “correct.”

However, in this scenario I think Derek Wolfe’s view about this penalty is spot on.