NFL Completely Dropped the Ball By Not Ejecting Earl Thomas After Mason Rudolph Hit

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph was forced to leave their game against the Baltimore Ravens after safety Earl Thomas knocked him out cold with a helmet-to-helmet hit that has put the rest of Rudolph's season in jeopardy. Despite what looked like a clear and obvious violation of the rules, the referees decided not to eject Thomas in this game.

Naturally, he continued to factor into the contest down the stretch, time and time again, actively dictating the outcome of a game he had no business participating in.

This is an egregious miscarriage of justice.

The NFL has made two things abundantly clear as it pertains to player safety. First off, do not hit the quarterback in any potentially damaging area. Second, do not use your helmet to initiate contact, especially on a defenseless player.

Thomas very clearly violated both of those statutes, but faced no consequences in this game. Rudolph, of course, missed the entirety of the rest of it.

The league has been pretty strict about doling out punishment for hits like this (well, unless you're New England Patriots corner Jonathan Jones), so Thomas had better expect a pretty major fine coming his way.