Jameson Williams didn't know it was a penalty. It didn't matter. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when he wrapped himself around the goalpost after his long touchdown in the Lions' loss to the Eagles, which earned him a talking-to on the sideline from Dan Campbell.
"He told me, 'Good play, just don’t do it again,'" Williams said Thursday.
The penalty led to a missed extra point for Jake Bates, who was forced to kick from 50 yards instead of 35 on a windy night in Philadelphia. His kick sailed wide to the right.
Any celebration that involves a prop, which includes the goalposts, is a penalty in the NFL. Williams, who was also flagged for dunking through the uprights after a touchdown in the Lions' win over the Seahawks last year, said he didn’t know his infraction on Sunday night "was a penalty until I sat down on the bench and I saw the field goal team going out."
"But I apologized to Jake, I apologized to (holder) Jack (Fox), I apologized to Coach, everybody. I ain’t look at it like that. They told me it wasn’t my fault, but I felt like it was my fault in the moment," Williams said. "We just gotta make plays, and be smarter."
Asked about curtailing such penalties in even more important games down the stretch, Williams said, "You think it’s something I do often? I feel like I’ve only got it one time a year. It’s something I can control, for sure, but we’re just gonna move past it. It’s a new week, we got a new game, and that’s just that."
Penalty aside, Williams has been cooking in two games with Campbell calling plays, with 10 catches for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He's been targeted more frequently on shorter routes where he can catch the ball in stride. Both of his touchdowns came off crossers over the middle.
"I feel more involved. It’s just part of the progression," he said. "We’ve been running the same plays, just switching it up a little bit, and it’s just been coming my way. That’s the thing. … I feel like when I get a ball in a little bit of space, I can make something happen. Every time I touch the ball I’m trying to go score, so I got the mindset to break a tackle and try to get more than what I got at the catch point."
As a whole, the Lions' offense cooled off in Philly, going 3-for-13 on third down, 0-for-5 on fourth and finishing with a season-low nine points. Sunday presents a prime opportunity to bounce back against a Giants defense that ranks 29th in the NFL.
"I see a lot of ways we can attack them," said Williams. "It looks good on our end. We got a lot of different ways we can attack them and make plays. We’re just trying to get back on the winning track. That’s the main thing going into this game."