Coach Todd Bowles stood up for safety Calvin Pryor on Monday.
Pryor drew the ire of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill for celebrating a big hit on Miami wide receiver Rishard Matthews in Sunday’s first quarter. Matthews was injured on the play, and Tannehill called the celebration “classless.”
“It was the heat of the moment. Calvin wasn’t celebrating the injury,” Bowles said. “He was celebrating a big play. He didn’t know how bad the guy was hurt, didn’t think he was hurt and he was just celebrating. It was just a miscommunication.”
Matthews did not return to the game. He has broken ribs, according to an NFL Network report. Pryor fired back at Tannehill on Twitter Sunday night, blaming Tannehill for throwing a poor pass that led to the hit.
Cornerback Antonio Cromartie said the Jets celebrated because of how big of a hit it was.
“I think the biggest thing we were celebrating as a team and as a unit because of what kind of hit it was. It was a big hit,” Cromartie said. “It kind of set the tone early on for the game. We don’t wish any injury on anybody.”
Sunday was the 100th start of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s career. The Jets quarterback was reminded of it before the game in a text from his father. Fitzpatrick said it was significant to him.
“That was cool for me. That’s a neat thing when my career is over with,” Fitzpatrick said. “I wanted to keep the ball at the end of the game and throw that one in the trophy case because being a seventh-round pick, being a guy who really wasn’t recruited to play college football, all that stuff, it’s been a pretty cool ride.”
Fitzpatrick made the day memorable with four touchdown passes.
Cromartie is one of the few Jets players who was on the team for the last regular-season meeting with the Giants. What does Cromartie remember about the 29-14 Jets loss on Christmas Eve in 2011?
“Nothing, to be honest with you. We lost the game,” he said Monday.
OK. How about the 99-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz?
“No because I wasn’t covering him,” he said. “That play won’t ever stand out for me. It’s a play that’s over and done with. It’s four years old. That won’t stick with me at all.”
But you were in the area to tackle Cruz?
“I came off my guy to try to help Kyle Wilson on the tackle,” Cromartie said. “I missed the tackle, he went 99 yards. For me to look at it as something to harp on, believe me that’s something I’ve never lost sleep over.”