(670 The Score) Back in Week 2, Texans running back Joe Mixon hauled in a pass near the sideline and broke a tackle with his momentum carrying downfield. Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards didn’t want to let him get any farther.
Edwards wrapped up Mixon, who drove his legs forward, attempting to break free. But as Edwards finished the tackle, Mixon’s right leg buckled underneath him to the turf. Mixon hurt his ankle on the play, an injury that forced him out of action for the remainder of the game and three more contests after that.
Though he wasn't flagged for a penalty, Edwards was later issued a $16,833 fine by the NFL for an illegal hip-drop tackle – a play the league is trying to eliminate from the game in an effort to protect players.
On the Bernstein & Harris Show on Tuesday, Edwards explained that he understands the rule but also detailed how it can put defenders like himself in a difficult position.
“It’s interesting to me,” Edwards said. “Especially when you’re just watching the game, you’re not looking at it as, like, ‘That’s an illegal tackle.’ Right? It’s not like a facemask or a horse collar or something like that. So, I think it’s tough. Because, one, it’s definitely not coached. It’s not coached to bring a guy down like that. But I think what’s difficult is that everybody in the NFL is so strong and fast. Sometimes, when you’re in a tough position, you just need to get someone down, you’re trying just to get a hold of the guy, and they’re dragging you in a sense. In the end, it’s just like gravity. Just naturally, your body is going to fall.
“It’s tough. Obviously, you never want to see anybody get hurt. I just know with me and mine, never been a guy that’s a dirty player. I got too much respect for the guys who play and the game itself. But it’s unfortunate. It’s tough. I understand what they’re trying to do, but it’s a difficult ask sometimes too.”
The NFL owners voted unanimously this past offseason to ban the hip-drop tackle from the game, defining the play as “when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.”
Former Bears and current Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is facing a potential fine for a hip-drop tackle on Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin in the final minute of Baltimore win on Monday, a play on which Godwin suffered a serious ankle injury.
The Bears (4-2) travel to Washington to take on the Commanders (5-2) on Sunday at Northwest Stadium.