Broncos safety Kareem Jackson has already been fined multiple times, ejected twice, and suspended for two games this season for lowering his helmet to initiate contact with opposing players. It appears Jackson hasn’t learned his lesson.
Jackson forced a fumble early in Sunday night’s win over the Vikings by lowering his helmet and hitting Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. The officials didn’t flag it, but they should have. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was measured in his comments afterward, but he said it looked to him like a penalty.
“Yeah, on the field, it felt like that,” O’Connell said when asked if Jackson should have been flagged. “I’ll have to go back and look at it. It tends to happen pretty fast out there, but in the moment, coming from the second level the way he did, it seemed like a pretty direct helmet-to-helmet type hit. But I’m sure they saw it differently on the play. They’re officiating a fast play right there. But, yes. . . . The rule is what it is. They didn’t throw the flag.”
It wasn’t actually a helmet-to-helmet hit, but Jackson used the top of his helmet to initiate contact with Dobbs’ body, which is also a penalty. Or should be. The officials missed it, but the NFL’s disciplinary office likely won’t.
