Shocking moment Atlanta Falcons’ Matthew Judon appears to smack rival fan’s phone after being heckled

Atlanta Falcons pass rusher Matthew Judon appeared to shockingly retaliate for a rival fan’s trash talk on Sunday.

The Falcons’ playoff hopes took a blow Sunday night as Atlanta slid to a 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 17.

But tensions appeared to be running high before the high-stakes showdown even got underway.

Judon was caught knocking a fan’s phone out of their house after they attacked him from the sidelines.

In a video shared on social media, the Falcons players were seen leaving the field and heading towards the tunnel after completing their pre-match warm-ups.

The pass rusher appeared to punch a fan’s phone after being harassed on the sideline

Washington Commanders fans could be heard off camera first shouting for Judon’s teammate Josh Woods.

The linebacker turned and shouted something understandable to the spectators after they shouted at him, but continued walking towards the tunnel.

Judon followed closely behind him, but was unable to keep his cool as successfully. The outside linebacker chewed on his mouthguard and staggered toward the group of fans, sticking his face into the camera.

He then escalated the situation further when he apparently smashed the phone into the hand of a fan who was filming the incident, causing the footage to become disoriented.

The fan laughed off the incident, while Judon appeared to leave the field.

Judon then recorded four tackles and one sack on Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, which yielded second-and-30 for Washington.

However, his efforts were ultimately in vain as the Falcons suffered a defeat at Northwest Stadium after head coach Raheem Morris mismanaged the clock multiple times.

Morris refused to use all three of his timeouts at the end of the first half before settling for a field goal. He had two left in the waning minutes of regulation before Riley Patterson attempted a 56-yard field goal attempt with two seconds left that fell short.

The linebacker sacked Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels

The loss provided a boost for their NFC South rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated the Carolina Panthers earlier in the day.

Atlanta now needs help from elsewhere in the league to reach the postseason with one game of the regular season remaining.

The Falcons can only make the playoffs if they can beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and the Buccaneers are defeated by the New Orleans Saints.

If the Saints can’t perform, Judon and his Falcons teammates will start their offseason early.