Antoine Winfield Jr. was just trying to give Tyreek Hill a taste of his own medicine.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie was unapologetic about his taunting penalty at the end of the fourth quarter – when he flashed a peace sign, a signature move of Hill’s, in the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver’s face following a fourth down incompletion with four minutes remaining in a game that was essentially over at that point.
While the taunting flag had no bearing on the game, Winfield’s actions were met with scorn from some fans and the CBS broadcast booth of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo.
But Winfield justified his actions afterward, explaining it is no different than how Hill treated the Bucs earlier in the year.
“The taunting, man, it’s something I just had to do,” the 22-year-old rookie said. “When we played them earlier, Hill went off on us. He back-flipped in front of my face and gave me the peace sign. So, it was only right that I gave him the peace sign right back to him. It felt amazing to do that. I’m not even gonna lie.”
Winfield was referring to the Week 12 game between the two seasons when Hill exploded for 13 catches and 269 yards and three touchdowns. Hill gave Winfield the peace sign on a 75-yard touchdown. On another touchdown, Hill stopped in front of the goal line and back flipped into the end zone.
Neither of those plays warranted flags.
The Super Bowl was a different story, though. Winfield and the Bucs secondary held Hill to 73 yards on seven catches and just 34 yards through the first three quarters when it was still a game.
Winfield was among several stars on the Bucs defense, finishing with six tackles, and interception and two pass breakups.
“The gameplan treated us well,” Winfield said. “We just executed the gameplan. Everybody knew going in we just had to do our job and be successful and that’s exactly what happened tonight.”
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