Niners defensive stalwart accuses Jaguars player of ‘dirty play’

Late in the first quarter of the 49ers’ 34-3 dismantling of the Jaguars on Sunday, defensive lineman Arik Armstead was slow to get up because of “a dirty play.”

Armstead told reporters after the game that while trying to rush the quarterback, Brandon Scherff, Jacksonville’s right guard, used a pretty illegal move to try and stop the Niner. 

“He tripped me, kicked me in my knee and kind of messed up my day,” Armstead said of the incident.

The 29-year-old defensive tackle was forced to leave the game as trainers attended to him, but eventually made his way back onto the field. He finished with three tackles and a half sack. One has to imagine those numbers might have been higher had a 315-pound man not just kicked his knee.

Armstead then added that this incident colored his opinion of Scherff, a nine-year veteran and five-time Pro Bowler.

“I have a lot of respect for him, but tripping me, kicking me, my knee could have got seriously hurt,” Armstead said. “It was just a dirty play.”

The silver lining to this is that the pain Armstead dealt with was not only manageable enough to return to the game, but also not enough to warrant any notable concern. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan informed reporters that there were no post-game injuries to Armstead, or to Nick Bosa, who also briefly left Sunday’s game before returning.