Bengals CB Pac Man Jones should have been ejected for assault on Raiders WR Amari Cooper

When the league gets around to reviewing the tape of the season opening game between the Raiders and Bengals, they should come upon a discovery that should have been obvious to all watching during the game -- Pac Man Jones should have been ejected.

Early in the second quarter, Jamize Olawale took a handoff around the left side for a 60-yard gain thanks in part to the blocking by wide receiver, Amari Cooper. Pac Man didn't like getting blocked by Cooper and flat out assaulted him at the end of the play, sitting on Cooper's chest, ripping off his helmet, and then smashing Cooper's head into his own helmet.

As you might expect, Amari Cooper underplayed the incident.

"I was blocking on the long run and he got on top of me after the play," said Cooper. "I mean, this is football. It's a physical game, so I kinda expect it. . . that's what they're supposed to do."

Here is a vine of it in case you either didn't see it or would like another look:

Pacman Jones ripping off Amari Cooper's helmet and slamming his head against it. Wow. https://t.co/zjMxgugZlh

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 13, 2015

The officials were obviously right there to see it because they threw a flag for unnecessary roughness on Jones. And with there being a penalty flag on the Raiders on the play, they offset. So, it was like it never even happened.

"I just feel like they didn't see it," said Amari Cooper. "I think if they would've saw it, they would've called a harsher penalty."

That is the only explanation, even though it doesn't really completely explain it as Jones' actions were far more than just a penalty flag could solve. he made contact with a player without a helmet. And it was a helmet he himself ripped off. That should have been an automatic ejection. No question about it.

Jack Del Rio isn't going to question the officiating and get himself fined. But if you read this next statement with the intended thick layer of underlying sarcasm, he got his point across pretty well.

"I didn't see it," Del Rio said with a twinkle in his eye. "If that was going on, I'm sure the officials were all over it. They had to see that. Maybe they somehow didn't see that. I don't know what to tell you. If it happened, typically the officials do a pretty good job of catching that stuff."

These things have a way of working themselves out. Pac Man Jones may not have been ejected from this game, but once the league takes a look at it, there will absolutely be a fine coming down and quite possibly a one-game suspension to make up for his not being ejected.

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