Las Vegas Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t miss a snap but is being evaluated for a concussion after Sunday night’s 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The news came after Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels spoke to the media, meaning he was not asked about or did not comment on the news.
Ostensibly, the hit occurred when Steelers FS Minkah Fitzpatrick blitzed and hit him in the fourth quarter. There was some helmet-to-helmet contact that drew a questionable flag that even the NBC rules expert seemed to disagree with. Garoppolo stayed in the game and finished things out.
Here’s the play. It resulted in a roughing the passer penalty and first down.
Fitzpatrick is likely to be fined by the NFL for the hit, though there’s a chance the league will disagree with the on-field ruling. We’ll get our answer by Saturday at 4 PM/EST when the league publicly releases all the fines from the prior week. Multiple Steelers players were fined high amounts from their Week Two win over the Cleveland Browns.
It was the second injury Garoppolo suffered in the game. Late in the first half, he was awkwardly bent backwards on this T.J. Watt sack. Garoppolo left before the half officially ended, though the Steelers had the ball, to get evaluated. He took the field for the Raiders’ opening possession of the third quarter.
Garoppolo finished the day 28-of-44 for 324 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He was sacked four times after not being taken down once in the Raiders’ first two games. The Raiders are back on the road to take on the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday at 4:05 PM/EST. With the loss, Las Vegas drops to 1-2 on the year and are tied with the Chargers. The Denver Broncos are 0-3, giving up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins Sunday, while the Kansas City Chiefs lead the division at 2-1.
Pittsburgh will travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday. The Steelers seemed to have come out of the game healthy only suffering minor injuries to CB Levi Wallace and RB Najee Harris. Both returned to the game and finished the night out.
