Greg Hardy managed to make Dallas Cowboys teammate Dez Bryant seem like the level-headed, peacemaker type.
In an unusual, on-field, in-game lashing out, Hardy broke into a Cowboys special teams huddle after the unit allowed a 100-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss to the NFC East rival New York Giants.
Hardy shoved at least one Dallas player. NBC’s “Football Night in America” showed a video clip of Hardy slapping at special teams coach Rich Bisaccia’s clipboard.
“I was a little surprised he was in there,” Cowboys safety Danny McCray said.
Hardy stomped around for a bit, then headed to the sideline, where he exchanged heated words with Bryant — still sidelined with a foot injury, the receiver was wearing a knit cap.
In the locker room afterward Sunday, Hardy was not in the mood to discuss what happened, issuing a half-dozen or so variations of “No comment.”
The defensive lineman was appearing in only his second game for the Cowboys; he missed this season’s first four games while suspended under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
He joined Dallas as a free agent after playing in only one game last season for the Carolina Panthers. Hardy was convicted last year of assaulting a former girlfriend; the charges later were dismissed after prosecutors said the accuser did not show up for a hearing.
In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL’s seventh Sunday:
5 UNBEATENS: Carolina’s 27-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night made the Panthers 6-0, the first time in NFL history five clubs won their first half-dozen games. New England also got to 6-0, beating the New York Jets 30-23, while three unbeatens were on a bye: Cincinnati, Denver and Green Bay. The Packers play at the Broncos next week, then at the Panthers the week after that.
BUFFERING: The word “buffering” got a lot of use Sunday, when folks took to Twitter to register complaints about the occasional glitches they experienced while watching Yahoo’s stream of Jacksonville’s topsy-turvy 34-31 victory over Buffalo in London. If the NFL can get Yahoo — or anyone else — to pony up enough dollars, more games could be shown that way, instead of via television.
NO LUCK: What is wrong with Andrew Luck? He returned last week from an injured throwing shoulder, but he still doesn’t look like the guy who not too long ago was considered a budding superstar. The Colts are only 1-4 when Luck starts this season, including a 27-21 loss to New Orleans on Sunday. The QB opened that one with five straight incompletions and was intercepted twice before halftime.
MARINO’S HEIR: While the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, Luck, is struggling, and the Redskins don’t even allow the No. 2 selection that year, Robert Griffin III, to wear a uniform most Sundays, the guy who went No. 8, Ryan Tannehill, is playing his best football yet. Tannehill completed his first 18 passes — stretching his two-game streak to a record 25 completions in a row — and tossed four TDs in the first 16 minutes of Miami’s 44-26 victory over Houston. “I thought Marino walked out again,” Dolphins interim coach Dan Campbell joked.
HOT SEATS: Since Campbell replace the fired Joe Philbin, Miami is 2-0 and has outscored its opponents — OK, so the Titans and Texans aren’t really, um, good — by a whopping 82-36. In addition to making Miami matter, Campbell’s quick success could sway other teams’ owners into a switch. So what coaches could be in trouble? Mike McCoy of San Diego (2-5 after what he termed a “pathetic” 37-29 loss to Oakland), Jim Caldwell of Detroit (1-6 after a 28-19 loss to Minnesota), or Chuck Pagano of Indianapolis (3-4, but 0-4 outside the AFC South).
