NFL: Rams suspend Jackson for punching Bills linebacker Chubb

The Los Angeles Rams have suspended offensive lineman Alaric Jackson for two games after he punched Buffalo Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb following their 37-34 overtime defeat on Monday.

The incident occurred near midfield after the game, when Chubb was speaking with players from both teams. Jackson approached the linebacker and struck him in the jaw, prompting disciplinary action from the NFL.

“It’s just emotions, you know what I mean? Emotional game, it was a close game,” Chubb said.

Jackson will miss the Rams’ next two fixtures against the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders.

The Rams have also made a change to their special-teams unit, releasing kicker Harrison Mevis after his costly misses against Buffalo and signing Blake Grupe from the New York Jets’ practice squad.

Mevis missed a field goal during regulation before having another attempt blocked in overtime. The errors drew a sharp response from head coach Sean McVay, who said they “cost us the game”.

“The kicking game, especially with our PAT, field goal, not even close to good enough,” McVay said.

Mevis, 24, converted five of his last nine field-goal attempts, including only one of four across the Rams’ previous two games.

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Grupe, 27, has converted 81.9 per cent of his field-goal attempts and 98 per cent of his extra-point attempts across 50 NFL appearances for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

The moves follow a narrow defeat that left the Rams addressing both an on-field disciplinary incident and their kicking performance.