Ravens' Cary Williams defends shove, calls 49ers dirty

Lindsay H Jones, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

NEW ORLEANS – Baltimore Ravens cornerback Cary Williams called the San Francisco 49ers "a little dirty" and said he had his helmet "kicked off" by a 49ers player in a second-quarter scrum.

Replays showed Williams emerge from the scrum and shove a referee with two hands, an infraction that would often draw at least a penalty flag, if not an ejection. Neither happened in this case.

Ravens defensive players and 49ers offensive players ended up in a shoving match after Baltimore safety Ed Reed intercepted San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

"It was a situation where I didn't see who the heck I pushed. Those guys kicked my helmet off, took my helmet off man, it's just a part of the process. Whatever," Williams said. "It's a reaction. You see teammates out there getting hit late, guys pulling guys after the whistle. My helmet came off, I couldn't barely see, and I just reacted. It is what it is."

Williams said the scrum, which resulted in offsetting personal foul penalties on Baltimore corner Corey Graham and San Francisco tackle Joe Staley, was the culmination of more than a quarter's worth of chippy play.

"The offensive line trying to be tough. Be tough between the whistles man. Don't pull that crap after the damn whistle, man. I mean, I just felt like those guys were a little dirty. The refs should have thrown flags on them early on them in the game to stop that junk," Williams said. "Sometimes you've got to retaliate, sometimes you have to show people we aren't going to be pushed around. We do this. That's been part of the Ravens defense for years, to show toughness, but we do it between the whistles."