Sport Some believe Mason Rudolph, hit in head with his own helmet, isn't getting enough blame

An interesting counter-narrative surfaced on Thursday night in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Cleveland Browns brawl, and it was especially popular on NFL Network.

© Provided by Oath Inc. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) swings at Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2) with Rudolph's own helmet. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

For anyone who turned off the game after Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s fourth interception and went to bed, a melee we’ll remember for a long time broke out. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Rudolph got into it at the end of a play, Garrett tore Rudolph’s helmet off and hit him in the head with it. Everyone agreed it was terrible.

Baker Mayfield quick to condemn teammate Myles Garrett for brawl, attack on Mason Rudolph

NFL Network's Steve Smith Sr. believes Myles Garrett has lost the privilege to play in 2019.

Myles Garrett hit Rudolph with his own helmet . Maurkice Pouncey (#53) threw punches and a kick. pic.twitter.com/kzJDd4Hj53. The team meet again in 17 days and it will be contentious, as it always is, but now with even some extra juice. READ NEXT: Insider Links Patriots Coach to Browns, Baker

ripped off Mason Rudolph ’s helmet and smashed it over the back of his head in a shocking life': Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett smashes Steelers’ Mason Rudolph in head with helmet (VIDEO). "We’ve got five seconds to go in the biggest game that this team’s won. You never beat Baltimore and

And while Garrett was criticized for one for one of the ugliest on-field acts we’ve seen in the NFL, others felt that Rudolph — who was rocked in the head with his own helmet after it got pulled off — wasn’t getting enough blame for his involvement.

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That’s one way of looking at it.

NFL Network analysts critical of Mason Rudolph

NFL Network had former players David Carr, James Jones and Willie McGinest on after the Thursday night game to discuss the fight. And all three agreed that Rudolph was getting off too lightly.

Baker Mayfield quick to condemn teammate Myles Garrett for brawl, attack on Mason Rudolph

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Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet . Will legal action be taken? Miraculously, Rudolph seemed relatively uninjured after getting hit in the head with his own helmet , and he said after the game that he felt Garrett’s play was “cowardly” and “bush league

Myles Garrett react to ripped Rudolph 's helmet off and swung it at his head in 4th Qtr - Продолжительность: 7:34 Pi Football 17 632 просмотра.

On the play, Garrett took Rudolph down after Rudolph threw a pass. Garrett did not seem to know Rudolph got rid of the ball. Rudolph took exception, at one point grabbing and pulling at the back of Garrett’s helmet. That’s when the fight started.

"I really wanted to know what Myles Garrett was thinking, because we all can see Rudolph gets tackled and starts pulling off Garrett's helmet, and that's when Garrett lost it,” Jones, the former Packers receiver, said on NFLN. “Then at the end, the linemen are holding Myles Garrett back, and you see Rudolph rush him and that's how he reacted. No room for the way he reacted hitting another guy without a helmet, but I really wish a reporter would have said, 'What happened, why did you react that that way? Because obviously something triggered you to make you react that way?'"

Once Rudolph’s helmet came off, he went after Garrett, with some of his teammates in between them. That’s when Garrett swung the helmet. After the game, Rudolph called Garrett “cowardly” and “bush league.”

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Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett hit Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet during a brawl at the end of "Thursday Night Football." Three players were ejected and Garrett is facing a lengthy suspension. Visit Business Insider's homepage

Mason Rudolph should be fined and suspended for attempting to remove the helmet first. Ripping off a quaterback's helmet , then bashing the helmetless quarterback in the head with his own Several reactions also included partial blame on the Steelers QB who started the fight by grabbing

"Don't make it seem like another guy was a coward and it was bush league, you were in the fight. Whether it was wrong or right, you were in the fight,” McGinest, the former Patriots outside linebacker, said. “You started the fight by trying to pull off this man's helmet. Now, he finished it, and it wasn't the right way, but you still charged into the pile. When [Steelers guard David] DeCastro got in between you and Myles Garrett, you could have walked away and threw your hands up, not after you got hit with the helmet.

“So don't make it seem like it was all Myles Garrett, he did everything, he incited this whole situation. It was guilty parties on both teams. It's all inexcusable, but I don't like the way the picture is being painted like this is all created by one particular person. I'm not making excuses, but we do have to be honest about what we saw."

Carr, who played quarterback for a few teams and most notably the Houston Texans, backed McGinest.

"I completely agree,” Carr said on NFLN. “Obviously it escalated when Mason charged back into a situation where, there were two offensive linemen there holding Myles Garrett back. When Mason came in, that just escalated it and you got the helmet swing, which obviously no one is condoning, but that's kind of what happened.”

Mason Rudolph takes responsibility for role in Myles Garrett fight

Rudolph is reportedly facing a fine from the NFL, and he said he will accept whatever punishment the league sees fit. While he may have technically “started” the altercation, there’s a reason even Garrett’s own teammates and organization have not even considered coming to his defense.

Baker Mayfield did not hold back while calling out Myles Garrett after the game, calling his actions "inexcusable." Thursday night's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns ended in a brutal brawl when Myles Garrett struck Mason Rudolph with his own helmet .

Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet and called it 'foolish' and 'embarrassing' but did not apologize. When Garrett was asked if he thought he had played his final game of the season, he responded, "no clue." He was also asked if Rudolph said anything to provoke his reaction

Deion Sanders blames Rudolph too

The NFL Network analysts weren’t the only ones chiming in to blame Rudolph — to make the night even more weird, O.J. Simpson got involved with his opinion — but it was a theme on their postgame coverage.

Deion Sanders, another NFL Network analyst, had the same take.

It’s a foregone conclusion that Garrett will get punished harshly by the NFL. Will Rudolph also get punished? If some of the league’s analysts have their way, the answer is yes.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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