Sean Davis penalized for brutal helmet-to-helmet hit, but what else could he do?

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Sean Davis had to be penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit because the NFL has safety rules and there’s not a lot of wiggle room for interpreting intent.

But it’s also hard to figure out how Davis could have played it differently.

In the fourth quarter of a divisional round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chiefs threw deep to Chris Conley on third-and-9. Conley had to turn back for a pass behind him, and was hauling it in with Davis coming at him. Davis probably didn’t expect Conley to be coming at him, but Conley had to adjust his body to have a chance at the catch. Davis actually looked like he tried to lead with his shoulder, but it’s hard to get your head completely out of the way. Davis hit Conley as he was falling – it was a brutal collision, in part because Conley was gong down in such an awkward way – and the ball came loose. And a penalty flag came out. That gave the Chiefs a first down, and they scored a touchdown later in the drive.

 

 

 

Even Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley came to the defense of Davis, though the Ravens and Steelers are sworn enemies.

All shoulder. My park league did more damage than that

— CJ Mosley (@TreyDeuce32RTR) January 16, 2017

lol yal making a big deal about me defending the Steelers. I love and live football idc what team it is. Ball is ball ppl. C'mon mannnn

— CJ Mosley (@TreyDeuce32RTR) January 16, 2017

This is why defenders say they are in an impossible spot. It’s very hard for defenders to hit legally, especially in a split second like Davis had. It’s also an impossible spot for the NFL. The league had to put in rules that focus on player safety. If it let things like Davis’ hit go, the NFL would get ripped for not caring enough about concussions (although there will be plenty of talk about how Conley could return to the game after missing just a couple of plays, after being laid out on the field for a few minutes after the hit).

Davis’ hit didn’t cost the Steelers the game, as they went on to win 18-16. But he’ll probably get fined. Defensive players everywhere will wonder what else they can do.