Watch CBS News

Antoine Winfield Jr. Doesn't Regret Taunting Tyreek Hill: 'It Felt Amazing To Be Able To Do That'

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Normally, picking up penalty for taunting in the Super Bowl is something a player will look back upon with regret, a case of getting caught up in the heat of the moment and hurting his team.

Antoine Winfield Jr., though? He was happy as a clam to incur 14 yards of penalty for taunting Tyreek Hill in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's blowout win.

"The taunting, man. It's just something that I had to do," Winfield said.

The rookie cornerback didn't forget when Hill did a backflip before crossing the goal line while scoring a touchdown in the Chiefs-Buccaneers regular-season meeting.

 

In Winfield's eyes, he was merely repaying the favor in the Super Bowl.

"When we played 'em earlier, Hill went off on us, he back-flipped in front of my face, gave me the peace sign," Winfield  recalled. "So it was only right that I gave him the peace sign right back to him."

Winfield added: "At this moment, it felt amazing to be able to do that, not even gonna lie."

The penalty came after Mahomes' fourth-down throw fell incomplete, leading to a turnover on downs in a game the Bucs were leading 31-9. Winfield sought out Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill, whom he had covered on the incompletion. After forcing that incompletion, Winfield popped into Hill's face to offer up a peace sign.

Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill
Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill
Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill
Antoine Winfield Jr. taunts Tyreek Hill. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal from the Bucs' own 27-yard line, which didn't really hurt. The Bucs went three-and-out on the resulting possession and punted the ball away, but the game was well in hand at that point.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.