barmore.png
Getty Images

New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was heated at halftime of Sunday's 42-10 drubbing of the New York Jets. It led to a confrontation where teammates held him back. Barmore exchanged words with Jets right tackle Armand Membou, who he says intentionally fell on his body after the whistle. 

"What happened was sorry ass No. 70 do dirty-ass (expletive) behind my back," Barmore told The Boston Herald. "People want to talk (expletive), but he ain't out there on this field. I'm just saying, bro. They want to act tough, you go in the locker room. … The play was already over. I heard the whistle blown. Bro came behind me and literally landed his whole body on my back."

Video replay of the incident showed Membou falling on top of Barmore behind the line of scrimmage, well beyond what resulted in a 12-yard gain from Isaiah Davis on a third-and-long draw play to end the half.

Barmore appeared to try and push coach Mike Vrabel away from him. Referees did not throw any flags on the play.

"I was just reminding everybody to keep their composure," Vrabel said. "We have an identity we've shown, and that we've put out there on the football field, and to make great decisions for the football team. We don't want to give people free yards. That was it. Just a reminder."

Barmore said Vrabel told him to "keep my head in the game" and acknowledged his instruction was beneficial.

"We got to keep calm for the team," Barmore said. "We already knew what they were doing, so we had to keep cool for the team. We got the win. Look at the scoreboard. I'm proud of my team, proud of us, proud of the D-line. We're just going to keep getting better."

Membou, the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, has been one of New York's most dependable starters as a rookie. Asked about the play with Barmore after the game, Membou said he was not interested in "going into any details about that" before moving on to the next question.