While the NFL is trying to make its game safer by banning helmet-first hits to mitigate concussions, it seems that the low hit by defenders is the new high hit.
The hit safety Kerby Joseph had against Tyler Higbee during the Detriot Lions-Los Angeles Rams Wild Card playoff game over the weekend is a perfect example.
Not only did Higbee tear his ACL and MCL as a result of the hit, but it is nearly identical to earlier this season when Joseph went low on Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson, which also resulted in him tearing those ligaments.
“You dirty as f*ck though and you know it,”a mic-ed up Rams QB Matthew Stafford said to Joseph after the play.
Joseph took to X to talk about the situation from his perspective.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell defended his player, and the hit Wednesday, telling the media, “That’s how we play football here. Just keep your head up, see what you hit. That’ll always be what I tell Kerby.
“… He’s going for the thigh board and staying away from the head. That’s how we play defense here. It’s not dirty. We hit.”
The NFL prohibited hitting someone with your helmet in 2018. Players are not allowed to lower their heads when they go for the tackle. If it happens, it could lead to a 15-yard penalty at a minimum, and a suspension at the most.
Former Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended then cut “for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.” He led with his head when making those hits.
In the hit against Higbee, many thought that Joseph was leading with his head, but it turned out to be his back and shoulders that made contact first. When the rule was adopted, some players felt that it would create more injuries, rather than prevent them.
“There are going to be times when players tackle with their shoulder, as they should, but the fact is your head comes before your shoulder,” former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said to The New York Times in 2018. “If there was a way somebody could pull their head back and only lead with their shoulder, I’m sure they would — but your body doesn’t work that way.”
Implementing the controversial rule did work for what it was set out to do– reduce concussions. There was a 29 percent decrease in concussions during the regular NFL season in 2018 from the 2017 season. There is not as much research done by the NFL concerning ACL/knee injuries, but in the 2019 injury report, NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills said they are working on it.
“As we look at injury burden, a couple of injuries really jump out – lower extremity strains, knee ligament injuries, and ankle sprains,” Sills said in the report. “So we are putting workstreams against each one of those specific injuries to try to understand who’s being injured, how they’re being injured, the factors driving injury, and the levers that we can pull to potentially affect those injuries.”
As for Joseph and the hit against Higbee, there was no call made. It was ruled a clean hit, and Joseph has not been fined or penalized.
