An ugly game ended in uglier fashion on Thursday night.
With eight seconds left in the Cleveland Browns' 21-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a skirmish between the two teams erupted after a late hit by defensive end Myles Garrett on Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph on a third-and-29 completion.
Garrett wrestled Rudolph to the ground well after the quarterback dumped the ball to Trey Edmunds for an 11-yard gain. While the two grappled on the ground, Garrett ripped Rudolph's helmet off of his head and then swung it at the quarterback, making contact with Rudolph's head.
Steelers offensive linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey tackled Garrett to the ground, and Pouncey punched and kicked the defensive end in the face. Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi ran in after the initial infraction and pushed Rudolph to the ground.
After a long skirmish between the teams and a discussion among Clete Blakeman's officiating crew, Garrett, Ogunjobi and Pouncey were all penalized and disqualified.
Garrett and the other participants in the fight are going to be under review for possible suspensions, a league source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Garrett's ban could be lengthy.
"I made a mistake, I lost my cool and I regret it," Garrett said. "It's gonna come back to hurt our team. The guys who jumped in the scrum, I appreciate my team having my back but it should've never gotten to that point. It's on me."
Rudolph called Garrett's helmet swing "cowardly and bush league."
"I got sacked, we exchanged some words, he kept keeping on and one thing led to another," Rudolph told reporters. "You can go back and watch the tape if you want and make your own assumptions."
Both sides were upset about how the rivalry game ended following the brouhaha.
"I'll keep my thoughts to myself," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game. "You guys saw what happened at the end."
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens told reporters, "That's not who we want to be at the end of the game. That's not who Myles wants to be. That's not who we're gonna be. You have to be able to maintain your composure in times like that.
"I'm embarrassed. Myles is embarrassed. It's not good. He understands what he did. He understands it's totally unacceptable and we've got to get through it."
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield sang a similar tune.
"It's inexcusable," Mayfield told FOX's Erin Andrews. "I don't care, rivalry or not, you can't do that. That's kind of the history of what's been going on here lately, hurting yourself. And that's just endangering the other team. It's inexcusable. (Garrett) knows that. I hope he does now."
Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said of the fight, "It was the stupidest thing I ever saw."
