Jets rookie becomes target of laughable dirty-play accusation by Patriots star

The New England Patriots steamrolled the New York Jets 42–10 in Week 17, but somehow still found time for a sore-winner postgame controversy that didn’t need to exist.

Late in the first half, a brief skirmish broke out as the teams headed to the locker room, with Patriots star defensive tackle Christian Barmore angrily accusing Jets rookie Armand Membou of a dirty play.

Barmore claimed to reporters after the game that Membou jumped on his back after the whistle and said the incident nearly got him hurt. The two were seen furiously arguing at the end of the first half of Sunday's game.

The problem is, Barmore's accusation doesn’t really hold up. As you can see in this video, the play was still live, no flag was thrown, and Membou didn’t leap onto Barmore’s back — he finished the block and pancaked him into the turf.

That’s football.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel even admitted he had to calm Barmore down at halftime. That's a pretty tough look for a player on a team that just dominated wire to wire. Melting down over a routine block felt unnecessary, and frankly, embarrassing.

"What happened was sorry a— No. 70 do dirty a— s— behind my back. People want to talk s—, but he ain’t out there on this field. I’m just saying, bro. They want to act tough, you go in the locker room. The play was already over. I heard the whistle blown. Bro came behind me and literally landed his whole body on my back. I could have got hurt. I’ve never been a dirty player"

Christian Barmore

Armand Membou called out by Patriots star for supposed "dirty" play

The Jets may have lost in embarrassing fashion on Sunday, but Membou continued his stellar rookie campaign. The No. 7 overall pick was once again credited with allowing zero pressures for the second consecutive week and has surrendered just one pressure over his last three games.

The Jets' offense is a trainwreck at the moment, with undrafted rookie Brady Cook starting at quarterback. Cook's abysmal pocket presence has made the Jets' offensive line, including his former Missouri teammate, look worse than they actually are in recent weeks.

Despite this, Membou continues to impress. His 76.1 Pro Football Focus pass-block grade in Week 17 was the highest among all Jets offensive linemen. He's recorded PFF bass-block grades of 70.0+ in seven of his last eight games and grades of 69.0+ in 12 of his 16 games this season.

His on-field dominance has been equally impressive as his week-to-week leadership. While much of the Jets roster looked apathetic and appeared to be going through the motions on Sunday, Membou clearly wasn’t.

His heated interaction with Barmore was less about trash talk and more about frustration. The humiliating loss genuinely bothered him. That level of compete and accountability can’t be said for a lot of his teammates, and it’s exactly why the Jets need more players wired like Membou moving forward.

Barmore’s assertion that it was a “dirty” play loses all credibility the moment you watch the video replay. While his team undoubtedly got the last laugh on the scoreboard, his postgame tirade made him come across as more bitter than wronged, which is certainly an odd look after a blowout win.