Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue addressed a controversial post-game social media message Monday.
On Sunday night, Ngakoue posted a tweet accusing Buffalo Bills guard Richie Incognito of using "racist slurs" during the Jaguars' 10-3 wild-card round win.
Ngakoue spoke with local reporters about the accusations during the Jaguars' weekly Monday post-game locker room availability.
"[Incognito] said what he said yesterday, and like I said before, we had a great team win yesterday and I said what I needed to say yesterday," Ngakoue said when asked about the Bills guard's alleged comments.
Ngakoue said he posted the message on social media because he just felt like people should know what happened during the game.
"There [were] 22 players on the field yesterday, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who heard [smack talk]," Ngakoue said.
The Jaguars defensive end said he didn't recall the use of the "N-word." He said he didn't know if his Jaguars' teammates heard Incognito's alleged comments. Ngakoue said he was "sure" that Incognito's teammates heard his accused remarks.
The second-year player said he didn't confront the veteran offensive lineman during the game.
"I couldn't," Ngakoue said. "I couldn't confront him. I had to focus on the game, I had to focus on winning."
Three of Ngakoue's defensive line teammates said they didn't hear the alleged remarks from Incognito. The offensive lineman's former teammate and current Jaguars defensive tackle Marcell Dareus said he wasn't even aware of the incident.
"I have no comment on that," Dareus said. "I don't know anything about it."
Incognito has a history of controversy in the NFL.
He was suspended for the majority of the 2013 season by the Miami Dolphins for his treatment of teammate Jonathan Martin. The Dolphins considered the treatment to be conduct detrimental to the team. Martin accused Incognito of harassment and player misconduct.
Incognito resurfaced with the Bills in 2015. He has been named to two Pro Bowls - including this year's all-star game - and avoided negative publicity since signing with Buffalo.
Jaguars defensive tackle Abry Jones believes Incognito's past may have struck a nerve when Ngakoue and the veteran lineman clashed.
"It just depends on the player, some type of trash talk gets in there," Jones said. "Sometimes when it's a certain person, it rubs you a certain way and sometimes if it's a guy you aren't really [feeling ill will towards] you let it roll off. It was probably just with Incognito and his past, it probably just got to Yann."
Ngakoue said he had never heard the alleged term Incognito used in all of his years of playing football. He added that comments like that show the league still has work to do with social issues.
"I've been playing this game since I was a little kid, so you hear all types of stuff," Ngakoue said.
"Stuff isn't going to bother you but when somebody says something about your ethnicity, that's really kind of taking it too far. I'm all about trash talk. It's part of the game but you can't say certain things."
The NFL said it will look into Incognito's alleged comments, according to ProFootballTalk.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.
