Patriots veteran unloads on Jets after alleged dirty play at halftime

The Patriots came out ready to swing against the Jets on Sunday, and they showed it by dominating all phases of the game in all four quarters, leading to a 42-10 win and taking ownership of the AFC East once again after the Bills' demise later in the afternoon.

There was a lot of good football played and plenty to be excited about throughout the afternoon, but a noticeably upset Christian Barmore right before halftime caught the attention of all Patriots fans, especially after having what appeared to be a frustrating conversation with Mike Vrabel.

Many believed it was a sign that something was going on between the defensive tackle and head coach, which would have been a disappointing development, but Barmore cleared things up with an explanation after the game.

Although it was good to have some clarification on the situation, it didn't necessarily make it better, since Barmore stated that a Jets player committed a dirty play at the end of the first half.

Christian Barmore had every reason to be frustrated as the Patriots went into halftime

Aside from the expected questions about another impressive win, Patriots reporters were quick to approach Barmore and ask what led to his outburst on the field.

In a passionate response, the veteran stated that Jets' offensive tackle Armand Membou had jumped on his back after the play was over, and Barmore was frustrated about it and wanted to address the situation then and there.

“You all need to see the tape, what that o-lineman did, No. 70. You should all see what he did. The play was already over, blown whistle, I’m about to get up, no 70, I don’t know his name, he literally dove on my back. Like, he put his whole body weight (on me) doing some dirty stuff. So I got up and was about to (fight), and my coach came out and calmed me down."

That led Vrabel to try to help calm Barmore down, firmly dispelling the idea that the two were arguing.

Instead, Barmore credited his head coach for helping him to calm down and relax, and thanked him for getting him back on track before heading back out for the second half.

"Coach Vrabes talked to me, told me he had seen it, and he was telling me we were going to do anything to hurt the team. I said, ‘You’re right. I’m not going to hurt the team,’ so I moved on from it. I appreciate him a lot. He’s been in the trenches. He’s been in the game. He understands it. The words he said made me relaxed, so I cooled down.”

This is just the latest example of why Vrabel was the right guy at the right time for the Patriots to hire, and the players continue to gush about just how much they appreciate him.

Beyond that, however, there should have been repercussions for Membou if what Barmore says happened really took place. The play was over, and he was on the ground, so there was no reason for any Jets player to jump onto a Patriot at that time.

In true NFL fashion, though, the officials turned a blind eye. We're fortunate that nothing severe happened, and we're not discussing Barmore dealing with an injury because of it.