Azeez Al-Shaair made a decision. He wanted to take Trevor Lawrence out, his forearm up to the head of the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback when he was well into a slide.
Now the NFL needs to make a decision on whether it takes player safety and blatantly dirty hits seriously. A suspension for the rest of the season would send the appropriate message.
You won't find a much dirtier hit than Al-Shaair put on Lawrence. He was probably lucky that he got ejected, because the Jaguars seemed ready to turn it into a brawl with him after that hit.
Al-Shaair, the Texans' linebacker, dove at Lawrence's head as Lawrence was sliding. He connected, leaving Lawrence in the fencing position with an obvious concussion. Between going after Lawrence's head and doing so after he was clearly sliding, it was a dirty hit on multiple levels. Lawrence was carted off and a fight started between the Jaguars and Texans.
Without their quarterback for most of the game, the Jaguars lost 23-20.
It's not Al-Shaair's first dirty move this season. In Week 2, he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson the sideline. The NFL let him off easy for that, fining him $11,817 for the punch. It'e a league that fines players far more than that for inappropriate celebrations.
The league can’t be so soft on him this time.
Perhaps the best comparison to what Al-Shaair did might be Myles Garrett's helmet swinging suspension. In 2019 Garrett took Mason Rudolph's helmet off and swung it at him, which was just as dangerous as Al-Shaair's headhunting on Lawrence, which left him with a scary concussion. Garrett was given an indefinite suspension, which ended up costing him six games. That seems to be a good precedent. Al-Shaair agitated the situation after he was ejected, taking his helmet off and yelling at the Jaguars sideline before he finally went to the locker room.
It was the type of hit the NFL has been trying to remove from the game for years. Daryl Johnston, the former Dallas Cowboys fullback and longtime Fox analyst, said the hit showed disrespect for a fellow player.
"It's everything you're not supposed to do. Everything," Johnston said. "Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you're trying to prevent in this situation. It's reckless. It's disrespectful. There's an honor you give to your opponent on the football field. You respect him."
The fallout from the hit could be significant for the Jaguars. Not all players are the same, but a similar concussion to Tua Tagovailoa put his career in question after the 2022 season. Tagovailoa suffered another scary concussion this season. It seems likely that Lawrence could miss the rest of this season, in part because the Jaguars are well out of the playoff race and don't want to risk their quarterback's health, but also keeping in mind what happened to Tagovailoa after his first horrible concussion.
It's not unprecedented for the NFL to suspend multiple violators of player safety, and Al-Shaair's punch for Johnson earlier this season should have had him on that radar already. Last season, Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the rest of the seasona reckless hit on Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and his repeated offenses. This season Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended for a game for multiple violations of the league's safety policies.
The hit to Lawrence's head as he was sliding was worse than what Kazee or James did. The league also wants to protect quarterbacks, and that could matter in a high-profile hit on Lawrence that could keep him out a while.
The NFL has expressed that it cares about player safety, punishing violators and eliminating dangerous plays. We'll see.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 13 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
The 10-2 Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings might post 13 or 14 wins without anyone noticing.
The Vikings were a big story early in the season but then they fell a bit off the radar as the Detroit Lions sucked up all the oxygen in the NFC room. But the Vikings just keep winning, and are 10-2 after a big comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings trailed 19-6 in the second half but Sam Darnold made some big plays, including a go-ahead touchdown pass to Aaron Jones with less than two minutes left. The Vikings intercepted Kyler Murray in the final minute to hold on to the 23-22 win.
The Vikings are just a game behind the Lions in the NFC North and still have a head-to-head matchup remaining in Detroit. The defense has played well all season, Darnold has generally been good and most importantly, Minnesota just keeps collecting wins.
Jayden Daniels: When the Washington Commanders lost three games in a row, Daniels lost much of his lead in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race. He didn't fall apart during that rough stretch, but he didn't play at the level he had been at to start his rookie season.
All seemed well on Sunday. The Tennessee Titans don't have a great team but their defense is solid, and Daniels carved it up. The Commanders took a 28-0 halftime lead and got back on a playoff track with a 42-19 win. Daniels got back on the Offensive Rookie of the Year track too.
Daniels threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and added 35 yards rushing and a touchdown. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is still in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, but Daniels reestablished himself as the clear favorite on Sunday.
Anthony Richardson: When Richardson was benched, it didn't end up being the end of the world for him or the Indianapolis Colts.
Richardson had a huge moment on Sunday. Trailing 24-17, he led his team downfield on a 19-play drive for the win. He hit Alec Pierce in the end zone for a touchdown with 12 seconds left and then used his size to bull into the end zone on a 2-point conversion for the lead. The Colts won 25-24, overcoming a good game from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and a 68-yard field-goal attempt by Joey Slye as time expired. The Patriots went for the NFL record field goal attempt instead of a Hail Mary, and Slye's kick was short.
Richardson wasn't great the entire game, throwing for two interceptions and completing just 50 percent of his passes for 109 yards, but he came through when he had to on the game-winning drive. That will go a long way in giving the team more confidence that his development is on the right track.
NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks: There was a point on Sunday in which the Seahawks' day wasn't looking so good. They trailed the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were beating the Vikings.
It turned out pretty well. The Seahawks rallied for a 26-21 win, behind a wild 92-yard pick-6 from defensive lineman Leonard Williams (the longest pick-6 in NFL history for a 300-pound player, via CBS) and a go-ahead Zach Charbonnet touchdown run with less than six minutes left. Meanwhile, the Cardinals blew their 13-point lead. Seattle improved to 7-5 and remains in first place of the NFC West, while the Cardinals fell to 6-6.
It wasn't always pretty for Seattle on Sunday, but they went across the country and got a win after falling behind 21-7. Their chances of winning a division title look a lot better as a result.
LOSERS
Kirk Cousins: Maybe it's time for the Atlanta Falcons to have a Michael Penix Jr. conversation.
When Kirk Cousins is bad, he's really bad. Cousins was beyond really bad on Sunday. He thew four poor interceptions and the Atlanta Falcons had another underwhelming day in a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons had a chance to win the game late, but Cousins held the ball too long and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Atlanta couldn't rally for a first down after that and Cousins threw his fourth interception on a desperate fourth-down pass to end Atlanta's chances.
It was hard to pick Cousins' worst play. He threw a pick-6 on a nonchalant pass to the sideline in the third quarter, which was obviously a key to the final score.
Another Cousins' interception into the end zone was a big factor in the end. He was rolling out and lofted a pass to nobody in particular in the end zone, and it was easily picked off. Had the Falcons gotten at least a field goal there, the Falcons' final drive might have been different.
Cousins was supposed to transform the Falcons offense, and sometimes he has done that. He also has had enough bad moments to let the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stay in the NFC South race. Sunday was so bad, the Falcons might at least have to consider whether Penix, their first-round rookie, deserves a look.
Cincinnati Bengals: The Cincinnati Bengals were spotted seven points on a bad non-call. Wilson threw to George Pickens, who had been pulled down by Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, and Taylor-Britt picked off Wilson and returned it for a touchdown. No penalty was called, though it seemed like a clear foul.
And despite that gift, the Bengals still lost.
The defense that got that fortunate pick-6 gave it all back and then some. The Bengals were carved up by Russell Wilson and the Bengals lost 44-38. Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns, continuing his career revival. The Bengals defense has squandered multiple big games from Joe Burrow this season and is the biggest reason Cincinnati is 4-8 and probably out of the playoff picture for good after Sunday's home loss.
A few years ago, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a hot name for head-coaching interviews, but now he might be on the hot seat. Cincinnati's defense has been bad, and even a pick-6 that probably shouldn't have counted wasn't enough help on Sunday.