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NFL Notebook, Week 11: Browns-Steelers incident, Tua injury, awards and more

By Zach Cohen

CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 14: Defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns hits Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the head with his helmet during the second half in the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 14: Defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns hits Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers over the head with his helmet during the second half in the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 14: Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers fights with defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Steelers 21-7. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 14: Quarterback Mason Rudolph #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers fights with defensive end Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns during the second half at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Steelers 21-7. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

What you missed in the Can’t-Miss Moment of NFL Week 11

I was all ready to write about Cleveland’s inability to call plays. Seriously, both the Browns and Steelers looked terrible on Thursday Night Football. Then, the Swing Heard ‘Round the World happened.

Where to even start? It was instantly the hottest topic in football, and for good reason. When was the last time you saw a football player hit another player with a helmet? As the cherry on top, it happened in a primetime game by a young superstar. Naturally, I had some immediate thoughts.

Myles Garrett was rightfully suspended for the remainder of the season and possibly longer. There’s nothing more for me to add there. The other suspensions and fines rolled out seem fine to me, too.

However, as I stated on Twitter, I’m curious about the actions, or inactions, of the referees. When I write this notebook, I try to focus on aspects that aren’t overly talked about in the mainstream media. There’s lots of good discussion about Garrett and the incident as a whole, but I haven’t seen discussion about the officials’ roles in the incident.

By the way, I can’t stand writing about officials, which hopefully says something about my concerns. If you watch the brawl again, notice how the first referee kind of backs away and watches the tussle unfold, whereas other referees rush to the scrum a few seconds later.

I know there’s literally an official in the photo on this slide, but watch him when Myles Garrett is dragged down into the endzone.

Again, I don’t expect an official to break up a fight between NFL linemen, but taking action is better than doing nothing.

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