Bradley Chubb wanted the first word. Two days after Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson punched him in the postgame handshake line at SoFi Stadium, the Buffalo Bills edge rusher asked to speak to reporters after Wednesday’s practice at UC Irvine and walked through the whole exchange himself. Sal Capaccio reported that Chubb talked for 3 minutes and 18 seconds before anyone asked a question.
What Chubb says he told Jackson
Chubb said the two sides had been jawing all night in Buffalo’s 37-34 overtime win, and that the trash talk from Jackson picked up when it looked like the Rams might win. He did not claim to be blameless. “I’m not gonna say I don’t have any fault in the situation,” he said. “I went up to him, I’ll tell you exactly what I said.”
He flatly denied one version that had been circulating. “I heard I’ve been talking about his mom and different things. That’s not true at all,” Chubb said. His message, he said, was about the rematch: “Hey, we gonna see y’all again. And when we see y’all again, that chip ain’t gonna save you, that tight end, that guard is not gonna save you.”
According to Chubb, the two then drifted apart to shake hands with other players. When Jackson came back and asked him to repeat it, Chubb did, using his hands as he spoke. He said he had read that he was pointing in Jackson’s face, but that he was simply talking with his hands. That is when Jackson swung.
Why he did not swing back
Chubb said he thought about the moment in terms of his role in Buffalo. “Everybody wants you to react a certain way,” he said. “I got to think about where I’m at, what situation I’m in. My team needs me. They brought me here to play and to be a leader. And I feel like if I would have reacted, if I would have did anything in both of those situations, I’m not doing what they brought me here to do.”
He also allowed himself one light line about the lesson. “Me personally, I’m going to learn,” he said. “Have my hands up or wear my helmet, one of the two.”
Jon Scott noted that Chubb has not spoken with Jackson since Monday and did not comment on the league’s punishment. Chubb said the next time he wants to see the Rams is in the Super Bowl.
A bad taste he wants gone by Sunday
Chubb was just as critical of Buffalo’s defense as he was of the postgame scene. He said the Bills never should have let the game reach 34-34, and he pointed to a play of his own: “I had the opportunity to swipe the ball out. I’m reaching it up, not out.”
“It’s a bad taste in my mouth right now,” he said. “I gotta live with it, it sucks, everybody’s talking about it, it’s a big story. But at the end of the day, man, what’s the best way to right that wrong? Go out there and make it happen.” He said he wanted to get the story out of the way and move on to the Raiders.
Later Wednesday, hearing officer Derrick Brooks cut Jackson’s suspension from two games to one on appeal. Jackson will miss Sunday’s home game against the Arizona Cardinals and can return for the Rams’ Week 7 trip to Las Vegas. The Bills, who are staying in Southern California this week, play the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EDT, then go into their bye.
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