Joshua Morgan will not face disciplinary action for a costly unsportsmanlike penalty in the closing minutes of the Washington Redskins loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
Cornerback Cortland Finnegan shoved Morgan in the face after tackling the Redskins receiver one yard shy of a first down at the 29-yard line. In turn, Wilson threw the football at the veteran, drawing the attention of an official who promptly flagged him for the penalty.
What would have been a 47-yard game-tying field goal attempt was pushed back to 15 yards. Mike Shanahan opted to let Billy Cundiff kick from 62 yards, but the attempt sailed well wide of the upright.
The coach hopes the incident will serve as learning experience for not only Morgan, but the entire team.
“What you’re trying to do is make sure that it doesn’t reoccur again,” said Shanahan. “That’s the difference in winning and losing… guys keeping their composure.”
Finnegan’s actions are common place in the NFL with the second man to act being flagged more often than not.
“A lot of these veterans set these guys up with a little push or a little hit at the end of the play,” Shanahan said. “All of a sudden a guy loses his composure and these vets are smart enough to walk away.”
Morgan did not apologize to the team for the penalty, but was visibly upset with himself following the game. Shanahan added there was no need for the 27-year-old to do so, adding there probably eight other instances of people losing their composure during the game.
