My Reaction To The Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph Incident

If you’ve been living under a rock, then you missed a HECK of an ending to the Steelers-Browns game last night. Dirty hits were all over the place. We had our fair share of injuries. It had pretty much everything you could think of that was possible in an NFL game. But the ending is what everyone is talking about. The Browns were up 21-7 in the remaining seconds of the game when things turned ugly really fast. If you missed it, here’s the video that you need to see.

Myles Garrett needs to face some serious consequences for this. You can't swing a helmet like a weapon. Ever. #TNFonFOX 📺: @FOXSports pic.twitter.com/cSIMNk3r6U

— Dennis de la Pena (@dennisonfox7) November 15, 2019

So the obvious thing here is that Myles Garrett is swinging Mason Rudolph’s own helmet at Rudolph’s head. A lot of people weren’t happy about it and called for the NFL to suspend Garrett for the rest of the season. Well earlier today, that’s exactly what the NFL proceeded to do with Garrett’s punishment.

Browns’ DE Myles Garrett suspended indefinitely, with a minimum of at least this regular season and playoffs.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 15, 2019

My Official Reaction

As far as the punishment itself is concerned, it’s the right call to make. Keep in mind too, this isn’t Garrett’s first time this season being a disruption to the Cleveland Browns. He’s been fined twice already this year.

Prior to Thursday night, Myles Garrett had already been fined twice for penalties he committed this season. pic.twitter.com/3lGV7meQac

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 15, 2019

You simply CANNOT use a helmet as a weapon against somebody else. I mean, Myles Garrett should know better and now, he hurts the Browns for the rest of the season. He might even hurt them in the long-term as well. Even though I get why the NFL handed Garrett his punishment, I still don’t understand a few things.

Why Isn’t Mason Rudolph Suspended?

Rudolph isn’t exactly innocent in all of this nonsense. You can see he clearly was trying to rip Garrett’s helmet off of his head. If you pull it wrong, it can damage a player’s neck permanently. Supposedly, Rudolph will receive a fine and no suspension. Here’s what I’m talking about if you didn’t see this point of view.

Myles Garrett obviously crossed a line but nothing for Rudolph after trying to rip off a helmet AND a kick to the groin? pic.twitter.com/NlEJbqTUDA

— Tony Clements (@TonyClementsTC) November 15, 2019

Ripping off a helmet AND a kick to the groin? That should be either a one or two game suspension. I’m not saying it should be any longer or that Rudolph should face a significantly long suspension. But for having the part that he did in the incident, one or two games is fair. Yes, I know people will say “he literally got hit in the head with his own helmet, what are you talking about?” and that’s fine. Remember, Garrett got his rightful suspension. Rudolph not getting a game or two is a little bit puzzling to me.

The Other Suspensions Fit The Crimes

Larry Ogunjobi got a one game suspension for shoving Mason Rudolph to the ground. That suspension is perfect for the Ogunjobi shove. Maurkice Pouncey’s three game suspension is correct as well. You can’t kick a guy in the head when he’s down on the ground. It’s simply inexcusable.

In Conclusion

This fight was messy. But, football is football and sometimes, it gets ugly. The Browns won the game, but ultimately lost the game. They lose their best defensive player and probably one of the best defensive players in the NFL in Myles Garrett. The Browns also lost Damarious Randall earlier in the game for a hit to the helmet. They also had Morgan Burnett suffer an Achilles injury as well.

So, their defense is in trouble for the rest of this season. The fight itself ruined an otherwise impressive win for the Browns. The win gets them up to 4-6 and gives them a chance to make a second half run for the playoffs. It must really suck to be a Browns fan. You finally have a talented roster, and it’s all going down the toilet rather quickly. It’s safe to say that maybe Freddie Kitchen could be on the hot seat now? This will be an interesting rest of the season for the Browns and their fans.

-Alan Nahigian (@BigAl2793)