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Joe Flacco’s Head Hit By Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso Sparks Furor

Joe Flacco's Head Hit By Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso Sparks Furor
Joe Flacco’s Head Hit By Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso Sparks Furor

Joe Flacco’s Head Hit By Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso Sparks Furor

Joe Flacco’s slide didn’t save him from a blow to the head.

The Baltimore Ravens quarterback was placed in concussion protocol late in the second quarter on Thursday night, after clobbered by Miami Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso with a forearm to the head as he gave himself up at the end of a scramble.

Flacco’s helmet was knocked off by the hit and he instantly appeared woozy. He was helped off the field and ruled out for the remainder of the game after being placed in concussion protocol. Alonso was flagged for unnecessary roughness but not ejected for the hit.

The controversial blow, which occurred near the Ravens sideline, sparked raw emotion from coach John Harbaugh, who was restrained as he approached Alonso.

Harbaugh said he would not comment on the play beyond remarking that it was “penalized correctly.”

Asked after the game if there was anything he could do to avoid the hit, Alonso said: “No, no way. That’s the target, you know. When a guy slides, his target is very small. I just think (the slide) was a second late.”

Said Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith: “Kiko, I’m sure he saw him sliding. He made a judgment call and he hit him. He may need to pay a fine.”

The incident ended a productive night by Flacco, who has struggled with his worst season but left with his highest-rated game for pass efficiency (107.9) of the year. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 101 yards, with a 34-yard touchdown to Jeremy Maclin. His replacement, Ryan Mallett, finished an eight-play, 60-yard drive with a 2-yard TD pass to Ben Watson.

Mallett completed three of seven passes for 20 yards and the touchdown in the Ravens’ 40-0 win, the largest shutout victory in franchise history.

“Oh, most definitely,” Ravens running back Alex Collins said when asked if the hit gave the team any extra motivation. “Seeing him going down like that. He’s walking off the field, got blood coming from his ear. We’re very passionate about our team and protecting our quarterback…so just seeing him go down like that, I could just see in everybody’s eyes that we wanted to finish this game strong for him.”

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