NFL Winners and Losers: If NFL cares about player safety, Azeez Al-Shaair will face a long suspension

Azeez Al-Shaair made a decision. He wanted to decimate Trevor Lawrence, his forearm up to the head of the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback when he was well into a slide.

Now the NFL needs to make a decision on whether it takes player safety and blatantly dirty hits seriously. A suspension for the rest of the season would send the appropriate message.

You won’t find a much dirtier hit than Al-Shaair put on Lawrence. He was probably lucky that he got ejected because the Jaguars seemed ready to turn it into a brawl with him after that hit.

Al-Shaair, the Texans’ linebacker, dove at Lawrence’s head as Lawrence was sliding. He connected, leaving Lawrence in the fencing position with an obvious concussion. Between going after Lawrence’s head and doing so after he was clearly sliding, it was a dirty hit on multiple levels. Lawrence was carted off and a fight started between the Jaguars and Texans.

Without their quarterback for most of the game, the Jaguars lost 23-20.

It’s not Al-Shaair’s first dirty move this season. In Week 2, he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline. The NFL let him off easy for that, fining him $11,817 for the punch. This is a league that fines players far more than that for inappropriate celebrations.

The league can’t be so soft on him this time.

Perhaps the best comparison to what Al-Shaair did might be Myles Garrett’s helmet swinging suspension. In 2019 Garrett took Mason Rudolph’s helmet off and swung it at him, which was just as dangerous as Al-Shaair’s headhunting on Lawrence. Garrett was given an indefinite suspension, which ended up costing him six games. That seems to be a good precedent. Al-Shaair agitated the situation after he was ejected, taking his helmet off and yelling at the Jaguars’ sideline before he finally went to the locker room.

It was the type of hit the NFL has been trying to remove from the game for years. Daryl Johnston, the former Dallas Cowboys fullback and longtime Fox analyst, said the hit showed disrespect for a fellow player.

“It’s everything you’re not supposed to do. Everything,” Johnston said. “Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you’re trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. There’s an honor you give to your opponent on the football field. You respect him.”

The fallout from the hit could be significant for the Jaguars. Not all players are the same, but a similar concussion to Tua Tagovailoa put his career in question after the 2022 season. Tagovailoa suffered another scary concussion this season. It seems likely that Lawrence could miss the rest of this season, in part because the Jaguars are well out of the playoff race and don’t want to risk their quarterback’s health, but also keeping in mind what happened to Tagovailoa after his first horrible concussion.

It’s not unprecedented for the NFL to suspend multiple violators of player safety, and Al-Shaair’s punch of Johnson earlier this season should have had him on that radar already. Last season, Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the rest of the season after a reckless hit on Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and his repeated offenses. This season Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended for a game for multiple violations of the league’s safety policies.

The hit to Lawrence’s head as he was sliding was worse than what Kazee or James did. The league also wants to protect quarterbacks, and that could matter in a high-profile hit on Lawrence that could keep him out a while.

The NFL has expressed that it cares about player safety, punishing violators and eliminating dangerous plays. We’ll see.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 13 of the NFL season:

WINNERS

Bryce Young: The Carolina Panthers lost, but they are in the second half of a lost season anyway.

What they can take from Sunday is that Young continues to make strides and look like a real answer at quarterback.

Last year’s No. 1 overall pick had a positive day, even if he couldn’t pull out a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Chuba Hubbard had a big fumble in overtime with the Panthers in range for a game-winning field goal, and the Buccaneers answered with a couple of big plays and a field goal to win it 26-23.

For the Panthers, the big development was Young continuing to improve. He hit a nice 25-yard touchdown pass to Adam Thielen that gave the Panthers the lead with 30 seconds left. The Buccaneers forced overtime, but in overtime Young hit a big pass to Thielen, in which Thielen made a great one-handed catch, to keep the drive alive on third-and-5. Had the Panthers not fumbled and kicked the game-winning field goal, Young’s great plays would have been one of the big stories of Week 13.

The Panthers took a tough loss, but can feel pretty good about what they saw. They might have their quarterback after all.

The 10-2 Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings might post 13 or 14 wins without many noticing.

The Vikings were a big story early in the season but then they fell a bit off the radar as the Detroit Lions sucked up all the oxygen in the NFC room. But the Vikings keep winning, and are 10-2 after a big comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings trailed 19-6 in the second half but Sam Darnold made some big plays, including a go-ahead touchdown pass to Aaron Jones with less than two minutes left. The Vikings intercepted Kyler Murray in the final minute to hold on to the 23-22 win.

The Vikings are just a game behind the Lions in the NFC North and still have a head-to-head matchup remaining in Detroit. Minnesota’s defense has played well all season, Darnold has generally been good and most important, the Vikings keep collecting wins.

Jayden Daniels: When the Washington Commanders lost three games in a row, Daniels lost much of his lead in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year race. He didn’t fall apart during that rough stretch, but he didn’t play at the high level he had been at to start his rookie season.

All seemed well on Sunday. The Tennessee Titans don’t have a great team but their defense is solid, and Daniels carved it up. The Commanders took a 28-0 halftime lead and got back on a playoff track with a 42-19 win. Daniels got back on the Offensive Rookie of the Year track too.

Daniels threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and added 35 yards rushing and a touchdown. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is still in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race, but Daniels reestablished himself as the clear favorite Sunday.

Anthony Richardson: When Richardson was benched earlier this season, it didn’t end up being the end of the world for him or the Indianapolis Colts.

Richardson had a huge moment on Sunday. Trailing 24-17, he led his team downfield on a 19-play drive for the win. He hit Alec Pierce in the end zone for a touchdown on fourth down with 12 seconds left and then used his size to bull into the end zone on a 2-point conversion for the lead. The Colts won 25-24, overcoming a good game from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and a 68-yard field-goal attempt by Joey Slye as time expired. The Patriots went for the NFL record FG attempt instead of a Hail Mary, and Slye’s kick was short.

Richardson wasn’t great the entire game, throwing two interceptions and completing just 50 percent of his passes for 109 yards, but he came through when he had to on the game-winning drive. That will go a long way in giving the Colts more confidence that his development is on the right track.

NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks: There was a point on Sunday in which the Seahawks’ day wasn’t looking so good. They trailed the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were beating the Vikings.

It turned out pretty well. The Seahawks rallied for a 26-21 win, behind a wild 92-yard pick 6 from defensive lineman Leonard Williams (the longest pick 6 in NFL history for a 300-pound player, via CBS) and a go-ahead Zach Charbonnet touchdown run with less than six minutes left. Meanwhile, the Cardinals blew their 13-point lead. Seattle improved to 7-5 and remains in first place of the NFC West, while Arizona fell to 6-6.

It wasn’t always pretty for Seattle on Sunday, but it went across the country and got a win after falling behind 21-7. Its chances of winning a division title look a lot better as a result.

LOSERS

Detroit Lions: For a team with an 11-1 record, you’d think the Lions would be feeling comfortable.

They can’t take a break because there are two teams chasing them hard. One is in their division. The Vikings won on Sunday to stay a game behind Detroit in the NFC North. But as each week passes it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles are the most dangerous threat to the Lions in the NFC.

The Eagles started slow but came on to get an impressive 24-19 win over the Baltimore Ravens to improve to 10-2. The Eagles are 8-0 since their bye. Saquon Barkley continued to make his MVP case with a 25-yard touchdown that gave the Eagles a 21-12 lead and 107 rushing yards on the day. The defense continues to play very well, and it shut out a fantastic Ravens team after halftime. Ravens kcker Justin Tucker’s three missed kicks were a part of that, but the Eagles defense was excellent. The win eliminates any doubt about the Eagles’ viability as a Super Bowl contender.

The Lions just need to keep winning games. The Eagles and Vikings are giving them no choice.

Derek Carr: The New Orleans Saints’ loss on Sunday wasn’t on Carr. He didn’t play that poorly. But he didn’t make much happen either, and that has been what has irked Saints fans.

Carr had a chance to be the hero with the Saints marching downfield trailing by a touchdown, but on fourth down with less than two minutes left he was hit from behind by Los Angeles Rams end Byron Young and the ball fell out of his hands and incomplete. The Rams sealed up the 21-14 win after that.

The Saints got a little bit of a lift from interim coach Darren Rizzi, but Sunday was a reminder that they aren’t a very good team. Some of it is out of their control, and that goes for Carr too. The Saints have lost multiple receivers to injuries and on Sunday saw do-everything Taysom Hill carted off in the fourth quarter. Carr doesn’t have much help. But for a franchise in need of a reset, there will be questions about whether the quarterback should be included in the housecleaning, whether all of the Saints’ struggles have been his fault or not.

Kirk Cousins: Maybe it’s time for the Atlanta Falcons to have a Michael Penix Jr. conversation.

When Kirk Cousins is bad, he’s really bad. Cousins was beyond really bad on Sunday. He thew four poor interceptions and the Atlanta Falcons had another underwhelming day in a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons had a chance to win the game late, but Cousins held the ball too long and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Atlanta couldn’t rally for a first down after that and Cousins threw his fourth interception on a desperate fourth-down pass to end Atlanta’s chances.

It was hard to pick Cousins’ worst play. He threw a pick 6 on a nonchalant pass to the sideline in the third quarter, which was obviously a key to the final score.

Another Cousins interception into the end zone was a big factor in the end. He was rolling out and lofted a pass to nobody in particular, and it was easily picked off. Had the Falcons gotten at least a field goal there, the Falcons’ final drive might have been different.

Cousins was supposed to transform the Falcons’ offense, and sometimes he has done that. He also has had enough bad moments to let the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stay in the NFC South race. Sunday was so bad, the Falcons might at least have to consider whether Penix, their first-round rookie, deserves a look.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals were spotted seven points on a bad non-call. Russell Wilson threw to George Pickens, who had been pulled down by Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, and Taylor-Britt picked off Russell Wilson and returned it for a touchdown. No penalty was called, though it seemed like a clear foul.

Despite that gift, the Bengals still lost.

The defense that got that fortunate pick 6 gave it all back and then some. The Bengals were carved up by Wilson and the Bengals lost 44-38. Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns, continuing his career revival. The Bengals’ defense has squandered multiple big games from Joe Burrow this season and is the biggest reason Cincinnati is 4-8 and probably out of the playoff picture for good after Sunday’s home loss.

A few years ago, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a hot name for head-coaching interviews. Now he might be on the hot seat. Cincinnati’s defense has been bad, and even a pick 6 that probably shouldn’t have counted wasn’t enough help on Sunday.