Commanders' disastrous season continues with ejection of leader

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne. Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Commanders' disastrous season continues with ejection of defensive leader

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Nov 9, 2025 6:02 PM ET

After a shocking run to the NFC Championship game last season, this year has been anything but the same for the Washington Commanders. Carrying a 3-6 record into Sunday against the Detroit Lions, frustrations began to boil over, especially for veteran defensive lineman Daron Payne.

Daron Payne ejected after throwing a punch

After a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown in the second quarter, Payne and Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown were in what appeared like a harmless conversation.

It went from rather harmless to rather heated quickly when Payne threw a haymaker of a punch across the helmet of St. Brown. The punch resulted in a personal foul penalty, as well as an automatic ejection for one of the best players on the Washington defense.

#Commanders DL Daron Payne has been EJECTED. He randomly punched Amon-Ra St. Brown after the play: pic.twitter.com/gnEqgYtCCR
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) November 9, 2025

Veterans acting out

It wasn't just Payne that received a personal foul penalty after the touchdown. Defensive end Javon Kinlaw was also penalized after shoving a ref away from him.

It was actually a bit surprising that Kinlaw was allowed to stay in the game, considering the severity of a player putting their hands on an official at any point during the game.

Are the players tuned out?

It is easy to imagine that such a horrendous season has completely shelled the spirits of a Commanders team that had such high hopes coming into the season.

Still, though, losing your temperament the way that both Payne and Kinlaw did in Week 10 of the season could be a sign of an extremely long and uninspiring end to the season for Washington.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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