Sunday was another frustrating day for the Washington Commanders. Washington lost its fifth consecutive game, falling to the Detroit Lions, 44-22. At one point during the game, it seemed the frustration had finally caught up with the Commanders.
After the Lions scored to make it 20-3 in the second quarter, two Commanders went down with injuries. At the same time, defensive tackle Daron Payne was ejected from the game. Initially, no one understood why Payne was ejected, as it wasn’t caught on the television cameras.
Once linebacker Frankie Luvu and cornerback Trey Amos left the field after their injuries, TV cameras caught the replay, where Payne threw a punch at Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. After Payne’s ejection, fellow defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was involved in his own altercation with the Lions, and an official was present. Kinlaw appeared to make contact with an official and was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
It was a messy sequence that revealed a lot about the 2025 Commanders.
After the game, Kinlaw provided some details, from his perspective, and Payne was not in the wrong.
“Daron only retaliated because the refs literally saw the first punch,” Kinlaw said after the game. “I don’t blame him for the way he reacted. Tempers got to flying. I mean, it is what it is —it’s a physical game; shit happens. But, on my end, I just got to be smarter in some situations and protect the team.”
Reporters pressed Kinlaw if he saw St. Brown initiate conduct with Payne.
“Yeah, for sure, and they did, too,” he said, referring to the officials. “It was some bullshit. 100%.”
Javon Kinlaw postgame on Payne’s ejection, says refs saw St. Brown hit Payne 1st (“it was some bullsh**, 100%”) & where #Commanders defense goes from here@JPFinlayNBCS asks about gap from when he signed/where season started to where they are now
“Next question bro”#RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/ocNK6LtiYz
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) November 10, 2025
Here’s the sequence where Payne was ejected and Kinlaw was flagged.
What led to Daron Payne’s ejection and Javon Kinlaw’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. pic.twitter.com/aAYRkY6QuC
— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) November 9, 2025
What we never saw was St. Brown throw a punch. That does not mean Kinlaw is lying. If he did indeed throw the first punch, then St. Brown should also be punished by the NFL, especially considering he didn’t get penalized on the field.
The All-22 should show more of this situation. The NFL will clearly review the play to determine whether Payne should be fined and/or suspended. Kinlaw will likely receive a fine, too. As for St. Brown, we shall see.
If the replay shows that St. Brown did not throw the first punch, head coach Dan Quinn has even more issues than initially thought.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Javon Kinlaw defends Daron Payne after ejection
