Amongst Sunday’s NFL matchups was an AFC battle involving the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders. While Oakland came away with a victory by a touchdown, they also lost one of their players due to what was deemed a malicious play.
A major Vontaze Burfict suspension has been revealed a day after his late hit on Jack Doyle drew the attention of the league. It’s also causing some fans and viewers to wonder why another player maybe got off lightly for what some people believe is a similar hit.
Video shows Vontaze Burfict’s late hit on Jack Doyle
The play in question occurred during the second quarter of Sunday’s game. As Jack Doyle caught a pass from Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett, two Raiders defenders rushed at him. Doyle was down on one knee on the field. As shown in the video below, Burfict lowered his head and ran into Doyle, hitting helmet-to-helmet with the Colts’ tight end.
Initially, the refs threw a flag on Burfict for unnecessary roughness. After a referee meeting to discuss it, the linebacker was tossed from the game for his late hit. He laughed it off as he ran off the field following that decision. It seems the league wasn’t in on that joke, as they hit Vontaze Burfict with a serious suspension a day later.
Burfict’s NFL suspensions, latest is for rest of the season
Due to Burfict’s helmet-to-helmet hit, he’s now suspended for the rest of the NFL season. The NFL made the announcement earlier on Monday (Sept. 30) which pleased a large number of non-Raiders fans out there.
That may raise some eyebrows from Buffalo Bills fans. They watched as their quarterback Josh Allen was taken out of the game by a helmet-to-helmet hit. Allen is now in concussion protocol for the Bills as per policy. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport spoke about the two plays from Sunday’s games.
Per ESPN, the league released a statement regarding previous warnings that Burfict was given for “other rule violations.” They also indicated there were no “mitigating circumstances” on the play to override the penalty and ejection. Now, he’s done for the rest of the NFL season.
Burfict’s recent suspension history
Burfict won’t just be suspended, but it’s also without pay. In addition, he will be ineligible to play during the postseason, should the Oakland Raiders qualify. However, there is also an appeal process which Burfict is sure to give his best attempt to, to see if he can have the suspension reduced.
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