League suspends Steelers safety Kazee for remainder of the season
By The Associated Press
The NFL suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee without pay for the remainder of the season for what the league described as “repeated violations” of rules designed to protect player safety.
The ruling, issued by NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan on Monday, means Kazee, a Cajon High grad, will miss Pittsburgh’s final three regular-season games and any potential playoff games if the Steelers (7-7) advance to the postseason.
Kazee was ejected from Pittsburgh’s 30-13 loss to Indianapolis on Saturday after hitting diving Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second quarter. Pittman laid out to try and catch a pass and Kazee made contact with Pittman’s head. Pittman left the game and went into the concussion protocol.
Runyan wrote in a letter to Kazee that illegal contact with Pittman “could have been avoided.” Runyan pointed to Kazee’s repeated violations of safety rules as one of the driving forces behind the suspension.
Kazee, a seven-year veteran, has been fined nearly a half-dozen times by the league this season. He will forfeit around $208,000 in game checks by missing Pittsburgh’s final three games.
Kazee can appeal the decision to hearing officers Derrick Brooks or James Thrash, who have been appointed by the NFL and NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.
Lamar Jackson threw a touchdown pass and made the play of night when he avoided a sack and threw to Isaiah Likely near the goal line, and Baltimore beat Jacksonville, 23-7 late Sunday night, to clinch a playoff berth.
Gus Edwards ran for a touchdown for the Ravens (11-3), who won their fourth in a row and moved a step closer to securing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Jackson threw for 171 yards — 70 of those to Likely — and ran for 97 more.
The Jaguars (8-6) lost their third straight — all against AFC North teams — and fell into a tie with Houston and Indianapolis atop the AFC South.
Trevor Lawrence fumbled twice, including one in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed Baltimore’s eighth victory in its last nine games. He ended the night in the NFL’S concussion protocol and was not allowed to speak to reporters afterward.
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The Ravens lost promising rookie running back Keaton Mitchell to a left knee injury early in the fourth quarter.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are turning to Mason Rudolph at quarterback in hopes of salvaging their season.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that Rudolph, a six-year veteran who hasn’t started a meaningful game since 2021, will start on Saturday against Cincinnati if Kenny Pickett’s surgically repaired right ankle isn’t healthy in time.
Rudolph replaces Mitch Trubisky, who struggled in losses to New England and Indianapolis while filling in for Pickett.
“We’ve got a great deal of comfort with (Rudolph),” Tomlin said. “Why are we making the change, man? We don’t like what we’re looking at and the consistency of it. What I mean is we’re not scoring enough points.”
Not by a long shot. The Steelers (7-7) are 28th in scoring and haven’t scored more than 18 points in each of their past five games, a stretch in which they’ve gone just 1-4 to squander the momentum generated by a somewhat surprising 6-3 start.
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ROAD WOES CONTINUE FOR COWBOYS >>
The Dallas Cowboys, aka “America’s Team,” are having a hard time when they leave North Texas.
The Cowboys clinched a playoff berth before Sunday’s game at Buffalo began, but they fell a game behind in the race for the NFC’S top seed thanks to their ongoing struggles on the road.
The Cowboys (10-4) were overpowered on both sides of the line of scrimmage in soggy conditions and saw their fivegame win streak end with a 31-10 loss to the Bills.
Unbeaten in seven home games, Dallas dropped to 3-4 on the road and they slipped a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East. San Francisco now controls the top spot in the conference.
Two of the Cowboys’ final three games are on the road, starting next weekend at AFC East-leading Miami.
“Regardless of what’s in front of us, and all the other conversations, there’s too big of a gap between home and away,” coach Mike Mccarthy said.
The Cowboys entered the weekend with the NFL’S highest-scoring offense, having outscored their opponents at home by a margin of 279-108. But Dallas has been outscored 156-152 on the road.
“I wish I could put my finger on the difference between the home team and away team that we are approaching this thing,” quarterback Dak Prescott said.