Like almost everyone who witnessed the incident, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was stunned by the injury to Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
OWINGS MILLS, MD — Like nearly everyone who witnessed the incident, Ravens coach John Harbaugh was stunned by the injury to Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa was injured, suffering a head and neck injury after being knocked to the turf for a tackle from Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupo.
Tagovailoa remained on the field for several minutes and was then taken to a local hospital.
There are questions about why Tagovailoa was still playing just four days after stumbling off the field and unable to walk after suffering a head injury against the Buffalo Bills.
"I just, probably like most people, couldn't believe what I saw last night, I couldn't believe what I saw last Sunday," Harbaugh said. "It was something that was amazing to see. I've been coaching in college and the NFL for 40 years — almost 40, not quite — and I've never seen anything like it. It was really something I could do." I can't believe what I see. So, I really appreciate our doctors, I appreciate my boss, I appreciate our general manager from the point of view that you have to take two things into consideration Well, one of them is the player's... a lot of times players want to play. They want to go out there, and they want to play, and sometimes you just have to say 'no' to them. You have to say, 'no' '."
Ravens pride themselves on being extra careful with concessions.
Wide receiver/returner Devin DuVernay had symptoms of concussion after being hit in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. The Ravens kept him out of the game and practiced until they felt he was all set to play.
"We had Devin DuVernay a couple of weeks ago with his condition, and he didn't really have much in terms of symptoms and stuff, but he was out," Harbaugh said. "He was out for games, and he was out for most of the week. He never had any symptoms, and he didn't practice all week until Friday, I think, when he finally cleared up. I think it's the approach you take Sometimes people are physically where they're healthy, but they're not convinced. They're not quite there yet, and we have this year. So, we've had both of these positions of the year. don't put them out there until they're ready, until they're ready in their minds.
"The game is too tough, the game is too tough for a player not to go out there who believes in his ability to defend himself and play well. So, I just appreciate our doctors, I think they call themselves maybe conservative, but that's what they have to be. The second part of it, that last night, was not something you want to see."