'It's A Black Eye For The League': KDKA-TV Sports' Bob Pompeani And Rich Walsh Share Their Thoughts On Steelers-Browns Brawl
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The NFL officially suspended Myles Garrett for the remainder of the season after he dislodged Steelers' quarterback Mason Rudolph's helmet, swung it at Rudolph and ultimately hit him with it.
Our own Bob Pompeani and Rich Walsh shared their thoughts on the actions of all involved and the subsequent suspensions and fines.
BOB POMPEANI:
In all my 37 years of covering football AT EVERY LEVEL, I have never seen what I saw last night.
Myles Garrett, with the game out of reach and with nothing more to gain, lost his mind. And in doing so, it will cost his team ANY chance of a postseason berth.
While Cleveland should be talking about beating both the Ravens and Steelers in the same season, which almost never happens, everyone is instead talking about what looked like a criminal assault on the field.
Garrett essentially pulled Mason Rudolph's helmet and used it as an assault weapon. He made contact with his head and luckily didn't see Rudolph being concussed again or worse.
What ensued was a riot, a brawl.
It's a black eye for the league.
Garrett embarrassed himself, his team, the league, and his family.
His own team, from QB to coach to owner, all made no excuse for him. Baker Mayfield, in a post-game interview, showed more leadership than he had all year.
To its credit, the league moved swiftly.
Garrett is out for the rest of the year and then some.
While Maurkice Pouncey did throw punches and kicks, he was forced to defend his defenseless teammate and quarterback. Three games was too much and it clearly will make weaker an already weakened offense, which lost James Conner again, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson to concussions.
Rudolph had a terrible game but part of that was because of no run game and JV players forced into play at wide receiver.
The Steelers need to go out and sign available players both at RB and WR as their window for playoffs is still open.
Not as much as a day ago.
However, desperate times call for desperate measures.
These two teams will meet again in 16 days, minus Myles Garrett. You can bet emotions will run high.
Let's hope not so high that something like this reoccurs.
The best revenge is to win the game.
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RICH WALSH
I was there in Cleveland when it happened and it was one of the worst incidents I've seen on a football field in my 20 years covering the Steelers. It was a celebration in Cleveland until the final eight seconds, and then it felt like both teams lost.
Myles Garrett used Mason Rudolph's helmet as a weapon. In my opinion, there isn't a suspension long enough. He could have seriously injured Rudolph. Luckily, Rudolph is OK.
"Shock" would be the best word to describe the Steelers' locker room after the game. Players were frustrated, upset and downright mad at how the final seconds played out.
Garrett is done for the rest of this season, and I would imagine he will miss a significant portion of next season as well. If it was up to me, I wouldn't let him back in the league. Realistically, I think he will be suspended for 6-8 games next year as well. I am basing it on Vontaze Burfict's 12-game suspension from earlier this season.
I understand why the NFL suspended Maurkice Pouncey, but I don't agree with it one bit. Pouncey was defending his quarterback. The mistake he made was kicking Garrett while he was down.
I think this ended the Browns' season. As for the Steelers, it seems like the Bengals game came at the right time of the season. They need to get back on track to try to salvage the season.
