Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans found a way to put the blame Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars over the whole Azeez Al-Shaair fiasco on Sunday afternoon.
Al-Shaair was ejected for a dirty and vicious hit on Lawrence in the second quarter of Sunday’s game between the two AFC South foes. Al-Shaair’s hit led to an all-out brawl and caused a concussion on Lawrence, who had given himself up by sliding to the ground. And yet, DeMeco Ryans thinks it’s the opposition who’s at blame.’
It is now anticipated that Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair will be suspended for the hit that he delivered Sunday to Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence. The only question is for how long. pic.twitter.com/P8phFecS02
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 2, 2024
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ryans said the Jagaurs “overreacted” to the hit on Lawrence. He emphasized that the team supports Al-Shaair and opined that Lawrence deserves some of the blame for the hit:
“The entire thing is Azeez hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts and it turns into a melee. It wasn’t our guys. Their team overreacted, pushed our guy, dragging our guy to the sideline, so that’s uncalled for on that side. We have to be better on the sideline…
With the entire Azeez situation, we stand behind Azeez and everything that came from that. Of course, he — unfortunate hit on the quarterback. But it’s also — it’s twofold, right?
“I mean, a lot of the quarterbacks in this day and age, they try to take advantage of the rule where they slide late, and they try to get an extra yard, and now you’re a defender, a lot of onus is on the defender whether it’s on the sideline or whether it’s on the quarterback. You don’t know what a guy is thinking. You don’t know if a guy is standing up, and he’s continuing to run.”
DeMeco Ryans defends Azeez Al-Shaair and blasts the Jacksonville Jaguars for their overreaction after Al-Shaair's hit on Trevor Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/PcbGRQdLdK
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) December 2, 2024
With all due respect to DeMeco Ryans, NFL teams will always come to the defense of their player (especially the quarterback) if they’re the victim of an unnecessary cheap shot. This wasn’t Al-Shaair’s first defenseless hit on a player in 2024, either
It remains to be seen if Al-Shaair will receive punishment for the hit, but his track record suggests that a multiple-game suspension is coming.
Fortunately, Lawrence appears to be just fine after announcing on X/Twitter that he’s okay.
DeMeco Ryans & Texans Swept Season Series vs. Jaguars
The Texans’ 23-20 victory over Jacksonville secured the season series sweep and pushed them closer to a second straight AFC South division crown. Houston is now 8-5 heading into their Week 14 bye.
