NFL lays down light punishment that still makes up for a huge blown call by the refs in the Bears-Texans Week 2 matchup
During the Chicago Bears at Houston Texans game in Week 2 on Sunday Night Football, things started getting a little chippy in the second half as frustrations continued to stack up for both sides.The Texans couldn't seem to put the game away and the Bears' offense failed to hit the plays that could have put […]
During the Chicago Bears at Houston Texans game in Week 2 on Sunday Night Football, things started getting a little chippy in the second half as frustrations continued to stack up for both sides.
The Texans couldn't seem to put the game away and the Bears' offense failed to hit the plays that could have put the team ahead.
In the back and forth battle, a total of 21 penalties were called on the two teams combined, for a total of 175 yards. However, the biggest wrongdoing was the one that wasn't called on Sunday night.
During the middle of the third quarter, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was hit questionably late while scrambling out of the pocket toward the sideline by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
The late hit caused a lot of commotion on the sideline and once things broke up, Al-Shaair was seen throwing a punch at Bears running back Roschon Johnson, who was seemingly an innocent bystander on the sideline. Thus, another skirmish broke out for a few more seconds.
When it was all said and done, it was a shock to see no flag called on the play. Even the commentators were surprised nothing was ever called.
In the aftermath of the events from Sunday night, the NFL has finally got involved in the manner. According to Aaron Wilson, Al-Shaair was fined $11,000 by the league for punching Johnson on the sideline.
It's a fair response all things considered, but some fans thought the number was low in comparison to New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr, who was fined $3,000 more for a celebration he had after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
There seems to be no bad blood carrying over, except for a now-deleted social media post by Johnson were he wrote: "It took every bit of my soul not to thrash that boy."
After the game, Al-Shaair took the blame and somewhat defended himself for the actions he took on the field in the middle of the incident.
“It was stuff obviously I can’t repeat,” Al-Shaair said in the locker room after the game. “I respect the game. A lot of guys think they’re tough when they’ve got pads on and stuff, but I know how it is. I grew up different. There are some things that you say that you got to speak on and answer for, and I felt like there was some crazy things said. I’m trying to get up and dudes are pushing me to the ground. For me, I see a swarm of orange and I’m trying to protect myself. People saying all kinds of things and stuff like that you don’t take it lightly.”
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans also weighed in on the sideline scuffle and tried to defend his player while talking to the media earlier this week.
"Azeez was around a lot of their players and also some staff, and they were surrounding them," Ryans said. "We got people pushing Azeez and kicking [him], so as the game we have to be better, from protecting all players involved."
At this point, it doesn't matter who's to blame. Everyone just needs to be better going forward with how they handle themselves on the field.
