San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk says C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s latest ejection fits a pattern.
After the Buffalo Bills safety was tossed from Buffalo’s Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders for spitting on Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Juszczyk took to Twitter with a pointed reaction. The 49ers veteran said Gardner-Johnson had done the same thing to him during San Francisco’s win over the Chicago Bears last season.
" This is the least surprising thing ever," Juszczyk posted on Twitter above a clip of the ejection. "(Gardner-Johnson) spit on me last year when we beat Chicago."
Gardner-Johnson tried to convince officials he had not spit on Bowers, but the contact in Bowers’ direction was enough for a flag and an ejection of the eight-year veteran.
The comments from Juszczyk also brought up another layer to the story: this is not the first time the two have tangled. Their history goes back to 2019, when Gardner-Johnson was a rookie with New Orleans in San Francisco’s 48-46 win. In that game, he drew a 15-yard penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Juszczyk.
Gardner-Johnson has crossed paths with the 49ers in some big moments since then, too. He was on the Philadelphia Eagles defense that beat San Francisco in the 2022 NFC championship game, then faced the 49ers again with Detroit in the next NFC title game and waved goodbye to fans after the Lions jumped out to an early lead that they later gave away.
Last season’s Bears-49ers meeting came in Week 17 and carried major playoff implications. San Francisco came out on top, 42-38, in a game that stayed tight all the way through.
With Gardner-Johnson playing close to the line of scrimmage and Juszczyk doing his work in the run game, it makes sense the two have bumped into each other plenty over the years. Still, Juszczyk’s claim makes the latest incident look like part of a longer-running issue, and the 49ers have been able to smile the last two times these teams crossed paths.
If San Francisco sees Gardner-Johnson and the Bills again this season, it would only happen in the Super Bowl.
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