The Pittsburgh Steelers are fresh off their second straight loss and looking for ways to turn it around. Their latest loss came at the hands of division rival the Cleveland Browns. It was neck and neck until the second half when Cleveland controlled the clock and ultimately won the game.
Credit: Fansided.com
During the game, there was a controversial play in which Jaylen Warren ripped off a huge gain on a running back screen, but it was negated due to a penalty on the Steelers' right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. After blocking Cleveland linebacker Anthony Walker, Okorafor jumped on Walker after he finished his block. This resulted in Walker suffering a torn quadricep and is now out for the season.
It has now been a few days since the game and Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett has publicly voiced his displeasure about the play:
"That was a bullshit play. He’s not moving. You don’t jump on the guy. That was a bullshit play," Garrett said.
It definitely appeared questionable but it could’ve been Okorafor just trying to finish his block. It’s understandable why Garrett would be frustrated seeing his teammate go down.
Okorafor spoke about the play as well. When asked about this he had a simple answer:
"I don’t know what happened. I was just trying to play ball," Okorafor said.
Okorafor was not flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, only being downfield ineligibly. We can only assume, but I’m sure he wished it likely went differently and no one was injured.
Other Browns Players Speak On Steelers’ Okorafor
Garret wasn’t the only Browns player to talk about the play. Running back Kareem Hunt had something to say about it:
“That ain’t the way we play football. It wasn’t a good sight, especially when a guy got hurt on the play," Hunt said.
It wasn’t all bad from the Browns players. Cornerback Greg Newsome and guard Wyatt Teller chimed in on it as well. Newsome had this to say:
"I feel like that’s just something O-linemen do in the NFL, you get pancaked, they’ll jump on you or something like that. I feel like I’ve seen it before," Newsome said.
Teller gave some perspective as a fellow offensive lineman:
“I pray that it was just a split-second decision and he made the wrong decision, which I’ve done," Teller said. "I’ve had late hits, inadvertent chop blocks or something crazy like that. But I don’t want to hurt them. There’s nasty stuff and then there’s inadvertent stuff and it seemed like that wasn’t exactly inadvertent. It seemed like he wanted to cause more pain, which is weird. But the NFL will handle that.”
Chukwuma Okorafor #76 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game against the Denver Broncos at Heinz Field on September 20, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania / Credit: Joe Sargent/Getty Images
Again, I believe in his heart of hearts Okorafor never wished for Walker to be injured or to injure him in that play. I can’t speak for him, but it would be hard to imagine he really wished to end Walker's season.
Although the team and specifically the offense have been struggling, Okorafor has put together a strong start to his season. He is currently rated as the 6th best tackle in the league per PFF with a 78.8 overall grade.
The offensive line as a whole has been noticeably improving and seems to be gelling together well. Hopefully, the offense as a whole can follow suit, as they have yet to post over 20 points on their own to this point. It has been tough to watch, especially with the level of talent at the skill positions.
Okorafor will work to put this behind him and continue his strong play going into Week 4 when the Steelers host the New York Jets and try to start heading in the right direction going into a tough stretch of games in October.
Credit: Photo / JSKO_PHOTO (twitter)
What do you think about that play, Steeler Nation? What do you think about what the Browns players said? Let us know in the comment sections below!
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