The Jacksonville Jaguars may have come up short against the Houston Texans on Sunday, but players made sure they got their licks in after a huge hit that knocked out quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence suffered a concussion when he was hit around the head and neck by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. Lawrence was sliding during a scramble when Al-Shaair came through and cracked him.
The tackle sparked a brief brouhaha and ended with Al-Shaair and Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones being ejected from the game. Jaguars tight end Evan Engram was penalized for unnecessary roughness as well.
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Engram called Al-Shaair’s hit "dirty," and he felt he had to defend Lawrence at that moment.
"It was just instinct," he said, via the Jaguars’ site. "It didn't feel like a clean hit, so just go stick up for him. I saw him sliding, and then I saw the hit. I just knew it was wrong. I knew it was a dirty play."
Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen-Hines did not like the play either. He did not say whether Al-Shaair should be suspended.
"That was a dumb hit on his part," Allen-Hines said, via ESPN. "At the end of the day he’s just playing football, but again, the way we’ve changed the rules of how we play, we go over these things.
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"We talk about these things. We know how to play football. A couple of years ago, that would’ve been a great hit, but now that wasn’t a good play on him. I am not going to sit up there and say, does he deserve to get suspended or not? That’s not my call at that moment. It wasn’t smart."
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said the incident was "a play nobody wants to see in our league." He added that he expected the NFL to issue fines for those involved in the melee.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans lamented Al-Shaair’s hit.
"It’s unfortunate with the hit with Azeez," he said, via Pro Football Talk. "That’s not what we’re coaching. We want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team. ... We just have to be smarter when the quarterback is going down. It’s an unfortunate play. It’s not representative of who Azeez is. He’s a smart player and really a great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there, his loss really affected us on the defensive side.
"It’s not what we’re coaching. I didn’t want to see the melee and all of the aftermath. It’s not what we’re about. It’s not representative of us. I’ll talk to Azeez, address him personally, and we’ll move forward from it."
Houston won the game 23-20.
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