The Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 Thursday night in Cleveland. However, the two touchdown win for the Browns in this appealing AFC North Division matchup, is not what everyone is talking about at the moment.
Near the end of the fourth quarter, with the game completely meaningless, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett pulled off the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Garrett, who seemed not to like the fact that Rudolph threw a meaningless screen pass in garbage time, then threw Rudolph’s helmet near his head.
😯 a brawl erupted during the Browns Vs Steelers match. How long will he be suspended for?
pic.twitter.com/mN8R0ATB2G— The Sporting Base (@thesportingbase) November 15, 2019
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey then defended his quarterback by punching and kicking Garrett. Pouncey, Garrett, and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (who also pushed Rudolph) were all ejected and suspended in the heated kerfuffle. Garrett was suspended a minimum of six games, Pouncey was suspended three games and Ogunjobi was suspended one game.
It was also interesting that Steelers guard David DeCastro, who came to Rudolph’s aid immediately after he had his helmet ripped off, and pushed Garrett, was not suspended yet. The National Football League announced on Friday that more players would be disciplined. According to CNN, the NFL is expected to discipline those players who left the sidelines to get involved in the fight.
This was one of the most heated exchanges in National Football League recent memory. It also happened at a time when the game was completely out of reach and the Steelers had no chance of coming back. Fighting is not as common historically in the NFL as it is in other professional sports. While the National Hockey League sometimes gets a bad rap for the fighting that exists in professional hockey, the altercation fans saw in the NFL on Thursday was significantly worse than any recent NHL altercation.
