JuJu Smith-Schuster was knocked out of the Chiefs’ 27-17 Week 10 win over the Jaguars with a concussion. He absorbed a hard hit by Jaguars safety Andre Cisco.
At least one of Schuster’s fellow Kansas City wide receivers believes Cisco’s hit was dirty.
Kadarius Toney, the Chiefs’ big pre-trade deadline acquisition, sounded off in his postgame comments to the media.
“My reaction, I was angry. I was kind of mad,” Toney said of the hit. “I don’t like no dirty plays.”
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Cisco was initially flagged for a personal foul, and it did appear that the safety hit Smith-Schuster in the helmet while trying to dislodge the ball.
But the officials eventually picked up the flag despite Smith-Schuster’s injury. Referee Brad Rogers explained that decision in a pool report after the game.
Two officials came in and determined the defender had set and braced for impact and hit shoulder-into-shoulder. They didn’t feel it was a use-of-helmet foul.
CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, a former NFL referee, disagreed with the ruling. He said on the game broadcast and Twitter that Smith-Schuster should have been considered a defenseless player.
A player is defenseless if they’re incapable of avoiding/warding off impending contact from an opponent. Forcible contact to a defenseless player’s head/neck area with a helmet/shoulder/forearm is a penalty. In my opinion, this is a penalty.#JAXvsKC pic.twitter.com/oe6IKnFlT2
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) November 13, 2022
The Chiefs agreed with Steratore. They certainly appeared miffed that the flag was picked up, and they were further upset with Cisco when he put a hit on Marquez Valdes-Scantling a few plays later that left the wideout banged up.
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Still, Toney said, the Chiefs didn’t let that distract them; instead, they used it as motivation.
I felt like it kind of gave the team a boost, gave us something to really put us on our back. It gave us something to play for, you could say.
The Chiefs extended their lead to 20-0 shortly after the hit on a Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass to Noah Gray.
Jaguars coach Doug Pederson tried to walk a fine line with his postgame comments about Cisco’s hit.
“You want your guys to play hard, to play aggressive and play within the rules. That’s what we’ve got to do,” he said, per The Washington Post. “You don’t want to take the physicality away from anybody. This is a game where you have to play snap-to-whistle. You never want to hurt anybody, but you want to keep the aggressiveness.”
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