In what ended up being a costly penalty on the final drive as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put the game on ice against the Philadelphia Eagles, Genard Avery was penalized for taunting in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter.

It gave the Buccaneers a first down and deflated the chances for the Eagles. Per Pro Football Talk, Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni is blaming himself for the penalty on his player.

“That’s first on me,” Sirianni said. “I’ve got to do a better job of cleaning up all those things. We know we can’t make those self-inflicted wounds. I know that, they know that, we’ll continue to harp on that, we’ll continue to work to get it right. But again, that was unacceptable, and that falls on me first. So I’ve got to do a better job of getting everybody doing the right things out there, and keeping our composure out there.”

The taunting penalty has been a “point of emphasis” this year and it's been a dumb decision by the NFL. With all the emotion and momentum swings tied into these games where players are colliding into one another, the trash talking is part of it. The NFL is trying to remove it or at least to some extent and it may have cost the Eagles a chance at getting the ball back.

If what Avery was penalized for is taunting, officials could throw that flag a dozen times a game. Sirianni made no excuses for Avery or himself or the Eagles but in reality, it was a brutal call.

Now, you be the judge.