Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans feared the worst after Chris Godwin went down to an awkward injury after Saints defensive back P.J. Williams hit him low on Sunday night. Unfortunately, their fears were confirmed when it was announced that Godwin tore his ACL and, needless to say, is out for the season. Another game, another casualty to the injuries that wreak havoc throughout the NFL on a weekly basis.
An interesting discussion arose after the play, with color commentator and former wide receiver Cris Collinsworth saying that the league's emphasis on preventing hits to the head has forced defensive players to aim low. When you think about it, is a receiver who's targeted low as he's turned the other direction any less defenseless than a receiver who gets hit in the head? Godwin's torn ACL would suggest otherwise.
And that presents yet another question. Do the rules need to change? Is there any way to prevent injuries like these? When Rich Eisen asked Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to reflect on this, all he could do initially was laugh.
"Oh man. I don't know what they expect us to do anymore," Fitzpatrick said on Monday's show. "I still want nobody to get hurt. Godwin's a great player, wish him a speedy recovery, but at the same time... I had a play against the Vikings in our last game where I hit the guy, clean hit, shoulder-to-shoulder, hit him hard. And the ref threw a flag. He was right there, threw the flag. It's like, what are we doing, man?
"...A part of football is that it's a violent sport, you know what I'm saying? People are going to hit hard, legally. People are going to get hurt. You don't will that, you don't want that, but it's part of the game and if you can't play defense — like, if I have to think about how I'm hitting this person rather than going for the ball, obviously I'm not trying to take your head off — I want you to feel me.
"I'm not going to let you catch the ball and make you feel comfortable catching it. I want to make you uncomfortable. That's part of the game."
Last season, there were 163 unnecessary roughness calls throughout the regular season and postseason, per NFL Penalties. So far this year, there have already been 145 of those calls, and it's only Week 15. And if the league adopts some sort of rule that even further restricts how defensive players can hit their targets, Fitzpatrick and company might be even more clueless as to how they're supposed to properly play.
"...I understand you wanting to protect people and wanting to make the game safer, but at the same time, you have to understand the type of game we play," Fitzpatrick said. "And all the players know what we signed up for, and all the players know it's 100 percent guaranteed that people get hurt. But this is something that... this is hard.
"They're making the game real hard on defenders, but it is what it is. I hope that it never happens."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram