Cleveland Browns safety Damarious Randall was ejected for a hit on Diontae Johnson that left the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver with blood coming out of his ear during Thursday Night Football in Week 11.
In the second half, Johnson couldn’t haul in a target from quarterback Mason Rudolph. After the ball fell through the receiver’s hands, Randall came flying in with his head forward for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Johnson. He was down on the field for a long time, but eventually walked slowly off the field with significant help from trainers.
Simply: there is no place for that kind of hit in the NFL. It’s exactly the kind of hit that the NFL has attempted to ban. The ejection was absolutely justified for what was clearly and illegal hit and probably a piece of dirty play.
Here’s a scary look at his ear after the hit.
CAUTION: the video shows blood.
Johnson’s injury followed concussions to receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and linebacker Ola Adeniyi, among other injuries to Pittsburgh players.
NFL fans and media members were particularly outspoken in their reaction to the hit on Johnson. They were clearly disgusted.
