On Monday, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans addressed the goal by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that concussed Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Sunday.
He blamed Lawrence. And he believes Jaguars players overreacted when they reacted to the hit.
Ryans spoke about the hit during his press conference on Monday afternoon.
Wow.
HC Demeco Ryans says that Trevor Lawrence is responsible for his players’ cheap shots.
The Texans are slowly becoming the most hated team in the league 😳
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) December 3, 2024
“We stand behind Azeez and everything that came from it,” Ryans said. “Obviously the unlucky hit for a quarterback. But it’s twofold. A lot of quarterbacks these days try to take advantage of the late rule and try to get an extra yard.
“Now you’re a defender, and there’s a lot of responsibility on the defender. Whether it’s on the sideline or at the quarterback, you don’t know what a guy is thinking. You don’t know if a guy stays and he keeps running. You don’t know. And you get a late slide and you hit the guy.
‘Too bad Trevor got hurt. We hope Trevor is doing well. But if we slip, you have to go down too.”
Here’s the full speed hit:
And again in slow motion:
Lawrence started his slide as Al-Shair braced for the tackle. Al-Shair then launched himself headfirst towards Lawrence after Lawrence surrendered himself. The goal left Lawrence dazed on the field and out of the game with a concussion. It also led to a brawl when Jaguars players reacted in kind to Al-Shaair’s goal.
Ryans also has a problem with this.
“The whole point is Azeez hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts, and it turns into a fight,” Ryans said. “They weren’t our guys. Their team overreacted, pushed our guy and dragged our guy to the sideline. So that’s not necessary on that side. We have to be better on the sideline with both teams as well.”
The NFL handed out exclusions for both teams on Sunday. Al-Shaair was thrown out for the hit that started all this. Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones was ejected for his role in the ensuing fight.
Earlier Monday, Al-Shaair issued a statement apologizing for injuring Lawrence and stating that “I would never want a player to be injured by a hit I give him, especially if it is like ‘late ‘ or ‘unnecessary’.” around being “late” and “unnecessary” of his own.
The next vote to weigh in is expected to be that of the NFL, amid calls to mete out substantial discipline for the hit.
