Earl Thomas saw Mason Rudolph step up in the pocket and took aim at what the Baltimore Ravens safety considered Pittsburgh quarterback’s “strike zone.”
One ugly and illegal collision later, Rudolph lay motionless on the Heinz Field turf and one of the NFL’s most bitter rivalries was reborn.
Thomas’ crunching hit to Rudolph’s chin left Rudolph with a concussion and Pittsburgh’s season in the hands of undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Devlin Hodges.
Photo: AFP
While Hodges on Sunday filled in admirably after Rudolph woozily made his way off the field and to a nearby hospital for further evaluation, the Ravens pulled out a 26-23 overtime victory that could have a significant ripple effect on both teams’ seasons.
Baltimore (3-2) snapped a two-game skid when safety Marlon Humphrey stripped Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and recovered the fumble at the Pittsburgh 34 early in the extra period.
Justin Tucker slipped a 46-yard field goal through the uprights four plays later as the Ravens won at Heinz Field for a second straight season.
“[When overtime started] I was on the sideline and I was thinking: ‘Whatever happens right now, somebody’s going to make a big play and going to be remembered forever in the outcome of this game,’” Humphrey said.
Maybe, but for all the weirdness of the game — from Lamar Jackson’s three interceptions to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to kick off in overtime instead of taking the ball to another crucial late-game fumble by Smith-Schuster — it is the image of Rudolph unconscious on the turf in a silent stadium that will linger.
Trailing 17-13 and facing third-and-11 at the Pittsburgh 12 midway through the third quarter, Rudolph lined up in the shotgun and dropped back to pass.
The play broke down and Rudolph scrambled to his left, stepping up the field in the process. He flicked the ball to teammate James Washington just before the crown of Thomas’ helmet hit Rudolph under the chin.
Rudolph limply fell to the ground and laid there with his eyes closed while medical personnel rushed to attend to him.
“I was just flying to the ball like I normally do,” said Thomas, who signed with Baltimore in the off-season after becoming a perennial Pro Bowler with Seattle. “I was asking the ref what happened and they said upstairs that a part of my helmet kind of hit him in the chin, and that’s what caused the flag. I still believe that it wasn’t intentional on my part.”
Rudolph eventually came to as trainers cut off his face mask. He needed to be helped off the field by his teammates because the cart used to treat hurt players stalled.
Pittsburgh (1-4) did not fold after being forced to go with Hodges.
He completed seven of nine passes for 68 yards and also had a 21-yard sprint to set up Chris Boswell’s go-ahead field goal with 2 minutes, 41 seconds to play.
It was not quite enough to put away the Ravens.
Jackson — with the help of a roughing-the-passer call on Steelers linebacker Ola Adeniyi — moved Baltimore in range to have Tucker tie it with 14 seconds to go.
Elsewhere, the Packers coasted past the Cowboys 34-24, the Colts defeated the Chiefs 19-13, the Broncos beat the Chargers 20-13, the Raiders edged the Bears 24-21 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, the Saints sank the Buccaneers 31-24 and the Patriots routed the Redskins 33-7.
The Panthers defeated the Jaguars 34-27, the Bills topped the Titans 14-7, the Cardinals beat the Bengals 26-23, the Texans trounced the Falcons 53-32, the Eagles soared past the Jets 31-6 and the Vikings vanquished the Giants 28-10.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was