Andy Reid might be right on Bill Belichik’s heels for the best coach in the NFL, but there is no one more respected at the position.
On Kansas City’s third offensive play of Sunday’s season-opening 33-29 come-from-behind victory over the Cleveland Browns, Chiefs’ running back coach Greg Lewis was seen being shoved in the shoulder and throat area by Cleveland safety Ronnie Harrison Jr..
Kansas City’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire was tackled into the sideline by Harrison, having converted enough yardage for a first down. A minor scrum ensued on the sideline, where initially a flag was thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct against the entire Chiefs’ bench. It had seemed like Cleveland had everything going their way early, already up 7-0. This is the type of penalty that threatens to derail any momentum the Chiefs were planning to build as a counter to the Browns' opening score.
The officiating crew convened, met with Reid, then overturned the call. The Browns were assessed the 15-yard penalty, with Harrison being ejected. Harrison’s reaction was a direct result of Lewis running up and shoving him out of the way with his shoulder.
Harrison was a key piece of the Browns’ secondary in 2020, which was ravaged by injuries. Cleveland spent over $40 million in the offseason to upgrade their defense, primarily in their secondary. Losing a starter like this would give Patrick Mahomes even more opportunities to throw downfield over the course of the afternoon.
What no one mentioned on the CBS broadcast was Harrison being bumped by a Chief player while getting up from the tackle. Harrison became unbalanced, stumbling over Edwards-Helaire, giving the appearance he was stepping on the downed opponent. This is when Lewis ran up and forcefully threw his shoulder into Harrison’s chest.
Harrison was on the opposing sideline, being tripped by the man he just tackled, bumped by another player who outweighed him and now has an assistant coach taking a run at him. Could you blame him for the reaction?
How Lewis was not ejected from the bench and the penalties not offset shows exactly what Kansas City thinks of the Browns. Reid was not overconfident...he was scared. He knew that if he made enough of a defense of a 41-year-old coach in street clothes that he could have the call reversed.
This harkens back to Joey Porter getting physically involved with Adam Jones during that infamous Cincinnati/Pittsburgh playoff game in 2016. The league established the “Joey Porter Rule” the following season, which prohibits assistant coaches from walking onto the field of play.
Yes, Lewis was still on his sideline when the incident occurred. The underlying problem is that Lewis decided to get physically involved with an opposing player.
The NFL needs to make an immediate rule change in regards to the personal foul calls during a game. All personal foul penalties need two additional add-ons. First, if a player incurs two in one game, they should be ejected from the game, similar to the technical foul system in basketball. Second, any physical-contact personal foul calls should also be subject to an automatic 90-second review by the replay booth for justification. This way both teams can be penalized accordingly, as often dead ball fouls are a result of someone instigating.
In hockey, they throw you out of the game immediately for instigating. Let’s be honest, the NHL does a much better job of policing the play on the ice than the NFL does, and the NFL draws nearly four times as much revenue.
Had Lewis simply put his body between Harrison and Edwards-Helaire, none of this would have been an issue. I hear those saying Harrison should have just walked away. However, if you watch the video without commentary, you have to agree that Lewis deserves just as much of a call, fine and/or suspension from the league office as Harrison is likely to receive later this week.
-JC24