It has been a frustrating season for the Washington Commanders, and we saw some of those frustrations boil over in the Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions.
With the Commanders getting handled by the Lions in the first half, defensive tackle Daron Payne was ejected from the contest with a shade under 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
It goes without saying that the Commanders could ill-afford to lose one of their best defenders, but that is a reality they will have to overcome for the rest of the game as they look to climb out of a massive hole.
So, what happened? Here’s what we know.
Why was Daron Payne ejected?
Payne was ejected for committing an unnecessary roughness penalty in the second quarter following a play inside the red zone.
Payne was flagged after punching Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, according to video shown during the television broadcast.
Check out video of the punch below. Payne threw quite the haymaker (Payne and St. Brown can be seen on the right side of the video.
Daron Payne just PUNCHED Amon Ra St Brown 👀
— Novo (@NovoHeat) November 9, 2025
It wasn’t clear if the officials announced that Payne had been ejected, but he was clearly being led off the field and his day is now done.
