Did Ndamukong Suh kick Ben Roethlisberger?

suh

The Pittsburgh Steelers say Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh kicked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on purpose in a Week 6 showdown.

Pittsburgh lost the game 30-15 and Big Ben now sits on the shelf with a knee injury. One play in particular has caused the Steelers to file a complaint with the NFL, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Steelers have filed a formal complaint with the NFL and asked the league to look into Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh kicking Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in his right knee late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game in Miami.

Right guard David DeCastro commented on the play:

“I’m not sure what he was thinking,” DeCastro said when asked about Suh’s kick. “You’d have to ask him what he was thinking. I heard Ben saying he kicked me, but I didn’t really see it until we watched the film.”

Suh has a reputation as a dirty player that is well earned thanks to a few injuries in his past. The play, though, looks iffy:

https://vine.co/v/5wZM1FlLbA2

It looks like Suh could have been going for a trip, which is pretty dirty on its own. Or maybe he was taking a huge step to get leverage and cut off Big Ben. It’s hard to say what the intent was at any speed, really.

Given the film available, it’s hard to imagine the NFL does much with the complaint. Future opponents of the Dolphins, though, will keep this in mind, as should the league.

So it’s up for readers to decide—dirty or not?

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