The Buffalo Bills-New York Jets rivalry could reach a new level of nasty in 2024, thanks to Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins, who lashed out against the Jets and defensive end Micheal Clemons in an interview that dropped last week.
Dawkins, appearing on VladTV, called Clemons a "b---- boy" and accused him of instigating their postgame scuffle in the tunnel at Highmark Stadium on Nov. 19 after the Bills' 32-6 victory. "Weirdos being weird," Dawkins said, when asked directly about the fracas.
Speaking of the Jets, he said, "I hate them, all of them, bro. ... When it comes to sports, there are people that play the sport because they love the sport. And then there's people that play the sport just to try to be cool. I feel like they play the sport to try to be cool. Those are a bunch of dudes that just want to take pictures on Instagram. That's whack."
Dawkins did identify Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams as "valid" and said, "I like him."
"The rest of them, don't care, don't like them," he said.
Dawkins said Clemons was trash-talking quarterback Josh Allen during a TV timeout early in the fourth quarter.
"First of all, why are you talking to my quarterback? Don't talk to my quarterback," Dawkins said. "Stay over there. Don't say nothing to none of my guys. Just stay over there, son. Don't talk to 17. I'm really serious about that. Don't talk to him. Don't say nothing to him at all, right?"
After that, Clemons pointed to several individual players on the Bills, called out their numbers and cursed them out, according to Dawkins, who was infuriated.
"He went down the whole team, everybody on the field, pointing at us and just yapping his beat," he said. "What am I supposed to do? I'm the OG. I've been on this line for the longest. I'm the one that's going to punch you in your face."
Dawkins said he warned Clemons, "Remember what you said, son."
One play later, the Bills ran a running play in which Dawkins pulled to Clemons' side. They met, head-to-head, with Dawkins knocking him down. Claiming he didn't hear a whistle, Dawkins jumped on Clemons with what he described as a "belly flop." They both got up and Clemons shoved him to the ground. It resulted in an unnecessary-roughness penalty for Dawkins and an eventual fine.
"When it comes to sports, there are people that play the sport because they love the sport. And then there's people that play the sport just to try to be cool. I feel like they play the sport to try to be cool. Those are a bunch of dudes that just want to take pictures on Instagram. That's whack."Dion Dawkins, on the Jets
That made for a chippy fourth quarter, setting the stage for the postgame altercation. Dawkins said Clemons followed him up the tunnel but was afraid to challenge him face-to-face.
"If you're going to run up on somebody, run all the way up on somebody," Dawkins said. "Don't run up and stop 5 yards behind and just start talking. So, when he did that, I'm like, 'First of all, you really don't want to fight me. You're really a b----.'"
No punches were thrown, but Dawkins admitted that he pushed Clemons during the skirmish. They were separated by players.
Clemons never commented about the incident. On Monday, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner responded to an X post of a video clip from Dawkins' interview with VladTV.
"I play this game because I love it and it takes care of my family," Gardner said on X. "It also gives me a platform to inspire the youth. I have no 'NFL beef' with anybody. I didn't know that was a thing 'til I just watched this video."
The Jets and Bills split the season series, with the Jets taking the season opener in overtime. In that game, they lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a season-ending Achilles tear on a sack by Leonard Floyd.