Al Riveron Explains Why Patriots' Jonathan Jones Wasn't Ejected After Hit on Josh Allen

Buffalo Bills fans won't be too happy with Al Riveron after they hear this one.

During the Bills' 16-10 loss to the New England Patriots, quarterback Josh Allen was knocked from the game in the fourth quarter after a vicious hit from cornerback Jonathan Jones. Jones would be flagged for unnecessary roughness, but would not be ejected, to the dismay of Bills coach Sean McDermott.

After the game, vice president of Officiating Al Riveron explained why the NFL felt Jones should not have been ejected, even after inserting Matt Barkley in a competitive game he shouldn't have been toiling in.

VP of Officiating Al Riveron on why J. Jones wasn't ejected: "Well, we looked at it and in this situation, we didn’t feel that that contact rose to the level of an ejection. The player actually turns. Obviously, there is helmet contact, but we have standards for an ejection."
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) September 29, 2019

Riveron's reasoning is absolutely ridiculous. Duron Harmon had already stood up Allen while he was rushing, so there was no need for Jones to come flying in helmet-first to take out Allen.

Here's the hit on Josh Allen.pic.twitter.com/J9HCYhM9Pp
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 29, 2019

What makes matters worse is that the fate of Sunday's game changed completely when Allen was taken out. The Bills were down by just six points when Allen suffered the hit, and were forced to resort to Matt Barkley, who most certainly didn't help Buffalo's cause.

Plenty of Bills players expressed frustration with the call on the field, including safety Micah Hyde, who had choice words to say about what occurred.

Micah Hyde when asked about the hit that injured Josh Allen -- If one of us did that to 12 we wouldn't be playing in the game anymore @WKBW #Bills #Patriots pic.twitter.com/2O5ITeHTNw
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) September 29, 2019

Now 3-1 on the year, Matt Barkley and the Bills will wait anxiously to see if Josh Allen will be available for next Sunday's battle against the Tennessee Titans.