Ugly finish for Browns v. Steelers ‘TNF’ game erupts into bench-clearing brawl (Video)
(Updated Nov. 16) Fans looking forward to the November 14 matchup between AFC North rivals Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns tuned in to the game to see if the Steelers’ playoff push would continue, and if Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield would be successful against the Steelers’ defense, and if Steelers’ quarterback Mason Rudolph could get wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster more involved in the offense. Instead, fans at the game being held at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, plus viewers watching on TV from home were treated to an epic bench-clearing rumble between the two teams.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett ripped off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet and hit him in the head with it in the final seconds of the Browns’ 21-7 win Thursday night.
CBSSports.com’s Jeff Kerr called it “one of the most inexplicable penalties football fans will ever see.” Fox commentator Troy Aikman described Garrett’s actions as “barbaric.”
It sparked a wild brawl between the rivals. ~ CBS News
After the game, Garrett spoke to the media and said he made a mistake. “I lost my cool,” he said. CNN shared a quote from Browns’ head coach Freddie Kitchens, who said the spectacle left him embarrassed. “He [Garrett] understands what he did. He understands what he did is totally unacceptable,” Kitchens said.
Several disciplinary actions are certain to be levied against the players. Garrett is fully expected to be suspended for his violent and unsportsmanlike conduct. Fox News also reported that Steelers’ center Maurkice Pouncey will most likely be disciplined for kicking Garrett in the head.
Nov. 16 Update: Late in the afternoon of November 15, CBS Sports reported that the NFL has decided on the penalties to be handed down. Garrett is being fined and suspended without pay indefinitely. Pouncey is suspended for three games. Ogunjobi is being suspended for one game. It’s anticipated that Rudolph will be looking at a fine in the immediate future.
Per a statement released by the NFL:
“Garrett has been suspended without pay indefinitely — at a minimum of the remainder of the regular season and postseason — and must meet with the commissioner’s office prior to a decision on his reinstatement. He was also fined an additional amount. Garrett violated the unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, as well as fighting, removing the helmet of an opponent and using the helmet as a weapon.”
According to a release from the NFL:
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns organizations have each been fined $250,000 and three players – Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi, and Pittsburgh’s Maurkice Pouncey – have been suspended without pay for their actions in Thursday night’s game.
Garrett has been suspended without pay indefinitely – at a minimum for the remainder of the regular season and postseason – and must meet with the commissioner’s office prior to a decision on his reinstatement. He was also fined an additional amount. Garrett violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, as well as fighting, removing the helmet of an opponent and using the helmet as a weapon.
Pouncey has been suspended without pay for three games and fined an additional amount for fighting, including punching and kicking an opponent.
Ogunjobi has been suspended without pay for one game and fined an additional amount for unnecessary roughness, specifically for shoving an opposing player to the ground during an altercation.
Additional discipline for other players will be forthcoming through the standard accountability process, including those players that left the bench to enter the fight area.
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the suspensions may be appealed within three business days. Appeals are heard and decided by either Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, the officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.
The video below depicting the initial altercation between Rudolph and Garrett which led to the bench-clearing rumble between the two teams has since gone viral. You can catch the complete fight below.
~ Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
