NFL Insider Ari Meirov noted that the Week 8 game between the Seattle Seahawks
and the Chicago Bears
was going to be "real physical" right at the beginning of the game. And he was right! Bodies clashed within the first minute of the game. But the real concern came when there was just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
The Bears were leading 7-0 during a third-and-eight play for the Seahawks. Quarterback Sam Darnold decided to make a rushing play. However, the play was cut short when Bears linebacker Devin Bush came sliding in to stop the quarterback's scramble. Darnold was already going down when the Bears' number 12 slammed into him.
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"#Bears LB Devin Bush just obliterated Sam Darnold and got away without a penalty," Ari Meirov noted.
Bush's hit targeted Darnold's head and neck area after he had begun to slide, meeting the criteria for unnecessary roughness. Even the broadcasters believed that the hit would draw the yellow flag. But the Bears linebacker escaped the penalty. Soon after the visuals went viral on social media
, fans and professionals began criticizing the rules officials for letting the linebacker go unpunished.
The NFL's inconsistent enforcement of player safety rules is under fire once again. Stay informed on how the league handles controversial calls and missed penalties by subscribing to our NFL newsletter.
"I'm surprised replay assist didn't jump in on the Devin Bush hit on Sam Darnold. Seemed pretty clear," Sr. NFL reporter Albert Breer wrote.
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Needless to say, fans slammed the referees, claiming that it was an obvious penalty. The officials could have flagged Bush for unnecessary roughness under Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8(d) of the NFL Rulebook, which prohibits a defender from diving or throwing his body against a runner who has slid or taken a knee. Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1(d)(2) also establishes when a sliding runner is considered down. The penalty would have cost Chicago 15 yards and given Seattle an automatic first down.
"That was a penalty, easy call, refs s**k s***," one fan wrote. "I can't think of more text book late hit," another fan added.
Meanwhile, a few others expressed their concerns for the Seahawks' quarterback. Judging by the impact, Bush could have seriously injured Darnold. After all, the hit affected the quarterback's neck and head area. But Darnold brushed it off and went on with the game.
"Late or not, still went for the head and neck," a fan wrote.
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Even Chicago Bears fans couldn't defend a reckless hit to the head and neck area that easily could have sent Seattle's signal-caller to the blue medical tent.
"I am a Bears fan and that should of been a flag no doubt for that hit," one fan commented.
For a league that routinely flags defenders for grazing a quarterback's helmet inside the pocket, the fact that Bush obliterated a sliding Darnold without drawing a single whistle on Monday Night Football is certainly a tough pill to swallow. But the NFL might put a hefty fine on the linebacker after the game.
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