In the fallout from Sunday night's 19-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers victory over the Dallas Cowboys, a Twitter beef has emerged following a play that may have flown under the radar.
Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette engaged Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons on a blitz pickup during the second quarter. The block occurred as Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady dropped back before he found Julio Jones down the right sideline for a 48-yard pickup that set up a field goal.
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During the block, Parsons was coming off the left edge of the Buccaneers' offensive line when he attempted to bull-rush tackle Josh Wells. Fournette waited for Parsons to become engaged before he lowered his right shoulder into Parsons' chest, sending him backward and onto the turf.
The play known as a chip block is when a player near the line of scrimmage, prior to releasing up the field on a passing route, makes contact with a defender who is rushing the passer. Running backs, fullbacks and tight ends most often are the players who use chip blocks.
Leonard Fournette ????????
pic.twitter.com/Jmow47eWrM
The chip block can be effective, though it can put defenders in an exposed position if the pass rusher is already engaged with another blocker, as Parsons was Sunday night. Not even an hour after the game ended, Parsons blasted the block in a message posted to his verified Twitter account.
"Now go watch the tape!" Parsons tweeted, in part, early Monday morning. "And see what happenned (sic) when it was me and him one on one!!! ... Stop hyping this ..."
Later in an exchange with several recently retired players, Parsons elaborated.
"I chalk it up!" he continued. "It's an offensive league!! Offense sells tickets defense don't! They don't protect defenders !! That's not a chip that's a blind side hit he's 260 (pounds) putting his whole shoulder and head into my ribs and neck area ..."
In response Monday afternoon, Fournette posted the crying Jordan meme, a clear shot at Parsons for his complaint about the block.
Otherwise, Fournette had downplayed the block after the game when asked about it by the postgame crew at NBC Sports.
"It's not really satisfaction, but I've got (Brady) back there," Fournette said in the NBC interview. "We gotta protect him with our life. We know he can lead us and what he can do with the ball in his hands when he's comfortable, so that's my job."
The play in question came with a minute left in the first half and led to the field goal that gave Tampa Bay a 12-3 lead.
In response to a tweet that showed video of Fournette's bltiz pickup, Bills linebacker Von Miller entered the debate Monday morning and said the chip block as it stands should be made illegal.
"This block must be taken out the game !" Miller posted Monday to his verified Twitter account. "This is the future and we are just letting the offense tee off on our marquee pass rushers! You can get the job done without this much contact!"
This block must be taken out the game ! This is the future and we are just letting the offense tee off on our marquee pass rushers! You can get the job done without this much contact! https://t.co/alEmMzEehk
Fournette and Parsons posted standout games Sunday night. Fournette ran the ball 21 times for 127 yards, while Parsons was a force off the edge, combining for five tackles and two sacks.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Stop hyping this': Cowboys LB Micah Parsons blasts Buccaneers' Leonard Fournette for chip block