Halfway through the second quarter, Pittsburgh Steelers S Damontae Kazee was ejected for a vicious hit on Michael Pittman Jr. that knocked the Indianapolis Colts wide receiver out of the game with a concussion.
Kazee has been fined a handful of times this season, so he can expect a hefty fine next Saturday when the league office announces the Week 15 infractions. It is also possible he could receive a suspension due to the severity of the infraction and his status as a repeat offender.
Members of the Indianapolis media asked QB Gardner Minshew and head coach Shane Steichen about the Kazee hit after the game.
“It’s never ideal,” Minshew said in a video posted on the Colts’ YouTube page. “You don’t want that. I don’t think there’s any malicious intent or anything. I think that’s sometimes how the game goes. I wish I wouldn’t put Pitt[man] in that position honestly…unfortunate things just happen in the game.”
It is hard to fault Kazee. It was 2nd and 8, and Pittman looked to be completing what would have been a large reception to move the chains. That being said, the rules have been this way in the NFL for some time now. It is tough to determine what Kazee should have done, but the route he took will draw a penalty every time.
“Obviously you don’t wanna see guys get hurt. They’re bang-bang plays and in real time it’s tough,” Steichen said during his press conference via video on the Colts’ YouTube page. “Obviously you don’t want that on your player. On the flip side, we don’t wanna do that.”
The Steelers received a 15-yard penalty for this hit, but more importantly lost their starting safety in a game that also saw Minkah Fitzpatrick and Trenton Thompson deal with injuries. The team paid in a big way with issues in the center of the defense. Whether it was tight ends running wide open, or the running game of the Colts breaking the will of the defense in the second half, the attrition component of this game for the Steelers was significant.
Regardless of what anyone thinks, the league office will do its job in handing down proper punishment. Kazee and the Steelers can only hope it is a fine and not a suspension.
