Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns swung his helmet and hit the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mason Rudolph late in Thursday night's NFL game. Maurkice Pouncey reacted to the incident on the field. Todd Gurley reacted off it.
— Todd Gurley II (@TG3II) November 15, 2019
Todd Gurley expressed a reaction everyone else in the NFL shares on a Thursday night which began with a bad football game and ended with one of the ugliest on-field incidents in NFL history.
It is true that Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers went over the line in kicking at an opposing player. Yet, he was trying to protect Mason Rudolph, his quarterback and teammate.
What Myles Garrett did — ripping off Rudolph's helmet and then swinging it as a weapon and hitting Rudolph's head — was shocking in its violence, even in a sport known for its brutally physical quality. The natural violence of football is inherent to the sport. So much of the violence of football is merely part of the honest attempt to overpower an opponent within the rules and win a game.
This action, by Myles Garrett, was something else entirely. It was assault, removed from any honest or wholesome aspect of athletic competition. Garrett snapped, and now everyone in the NFL will wait to see what the league office does to one of its most dynamic and young players.
Garrett is a former No. 1 NFL Draft pick. Though the Browns are struggling and have not lived up to expectations this season, Garrett's talent has shone through. His football prowess is considerable.
An instant reaction to this event among many in the NFL — as measured by Gurley and Michael Irvin and other pundits on NFL Network and ESPN — is that Garrett should be suspended for the rest of the 2019 at a bare minimum. The real question is if Garrett will be punished more than that.
The many layers to this story will unfold in the course of time. For now, Todd Gurley and a nation of NFL fans are equally shocked by what they saw in the final minutes of a 14-point game between the Browns and Steelers.
The outcome had been decided at the time of this brawl… but some anger from Myles Garrett had clearly not been resolved.
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