Rams Punter Johnny Hekker Pushes Cliff Avril, Dodges Avril Later On

With the St. Louis Rams leading the Seattle Seahawks in their home field in Seattle 16-3 at halftime, a certain play was needed to show that the Rams were taking care of the Seahawks throughout the game.

After punting his second punt of the game, Rams punter Johnny Hekker had started running down the field to play defense for the punting team. While doing this, Hekker had intentionally pushed Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril with a blindside block, resulting in a 15-yard penalty personal foul. “I’m jogging down the field and somebody comes and hits me in the back,” Avril said. “It happened to be the doggone punter. But it is what it is.” This caused both Avril and defensive end Michael Bennett to have some words with the punter and revenge to be heard. On the very next punt play, Hekker had performed his punt when a raging Avril came running for him and caused Hekker to spin and duck away from the defensive end. A few seconds later, Bennett would also run for the punter and Hekker eventually fell to the ground to avoid contact. “Yeah, he was scared,” Bennett said. “He squealed like a little girl.”

“It was a bonehead play,” Hekker told the Seattle Times. “I had to deal with the consequences, and I don’t know if I did that too well. I was just trying not to get my stuff rocked. That’s football. That’s what happens when you hit a guy like that. I’m not happy with what I did. I’m definitely not going to do that in the future.”

This play did not hinder the rest of the game for the Rams won in surprising action in a 23-17 victory over the Seahawks.

Photo: GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 11: Punter Johnny Hekker #6 of the St. Louis Rams looks to pass against the Green Bay Packers in the third quarter at Lambeau Field on October 11, 2015 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)