In Week 13’s edition of Monday Night Football, the Cleveland Browns were able to see, enjoy and endure the full Jameis Winston experience.
Between a pair of pick-sixes, nearly 500 passing yards and four scores through the air, it was as erratic a game as we’ve seen from Winston in quite some time. But, it was fun. That’s for sure.
Whether or not you’re a fan of Winston, the fact of the matter is, he’s the best option for the Browns right now. And, because of that, he should be protected at all costs. Late in this game, however, the officials blew an opportunity to do just that.
In the fourth quarter, Winston would be sacked by Broncos linebacker Nick Bonitto. However, during the tail end of the sack while Winston was already on his way down, fellow Broncos linebacker Jonathan Cooper came flying in with a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Browns quarterback.
The officials failed to throw a flag which was blatantly warranted. Instead of a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down, the Browns would end up punting on this drive.
To be fair, Cleveland would go on to intercept Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on the following drive and take the ball down to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession. But, the hit on Winston still raises questions.
The Azeez Al-Shaair situation raises eyebrows for how Jameis Winston’s safety was ignored
Just a couple of days after Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was flagged for a hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, it was announced that the league had suspended him for three games.
Much has been made about the play which concussed Lawrence and caused a ruckus between the Jaguars and Texans players, but one might even be able to argue that Al-Shaair’s hit wasn’t even as egregious as Cooper’s hit on Winston.
Al-Shaair was in the middle of running toward Lawrence to stop the play, while Cooper came in completely unnecessarily on Winston after he was already being brought down.
If the league is going to hold a high standard for protecting quarterbacks, wouldn’t you think the refs should have flagged Cooper’s hit on Winston? It would only make sense, especially with all of the attention on Al-Shaair early this week.
This is just another example of inconsistency when it comes to the league attempting to maintain a certain level of player safety and will only raise more questions as to whether or not the NFL prefers protecting certain players over others.
