This NFL season has had its share of highlights, like when Titans QB Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass to himself or Eagles kicker Jake Elliott nailed a 61-yard, game-winning field goal at the buzzer, but I think I’ll remember those as much, if not less, as I will Texans QB Tom Savage twitching on the ground, or Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier realizing he can’t move his legs.
Deadspin had done its share of covering brain injuries and the consequences of brain injuries as they happen in the NFL, but the short film Concussion Protocol by The Intercept’s Josh Begley was as thorough as can be for the concussions of the 2017-18 season. One concussed player is hard enough to watch—Broncos receiver Bennie Fowler didn’t even receive a helmet-to-helmet hit; his concussion was caused by the ground—but a four-minute montage of them might make a person reflect or question their interest in football.
Although I know this film won’t make me stop watching football altogether, it makes it that much more difficult to come up with a convincing reason to continue to do so.
[The Intercept | Field of Vision]
H/t to Greta