Azeez Al-Shair has made a decision. He was about to decimate Trevor Lawrence, his forearm all the way to the head of the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback just as he was sliding.

Now the NFL must make a decision about whether to take player safety and obviously dirty hits seriously. A ban for the rest of the season would be the right signal.

There is hardly a dirtier hit than Al-Shair against Lawrence. He was probably lucky he got ejected because the Jaguars seemed ready to turn it into a brawl with him after that hit.

Al-Shaair, the Texans’ linebacker, lunged at Lawrence’s head as he slipped. He scored, leaving Lawrence in the fencing position with an apparent concussion. Between the attack on Lawrence’s head and the attack after he had clearly started to slide, it was a dirty hit on multiple levels. Lawrence was carted away and a fight broke out between the Jaguars and Texans.

Without their quarterback, the Jaguars lost most of the game, 23-20.

It’s not Al-Shair’s first dirty move this season. In Week 2, he hit Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline. The NFL let him off lightly and fined him $11,817 for the hit. This is a league that imposes far larger fines on players for inappropriate celebrations.

This time the league can’t be so gentle with him.

Perhaps the best comparison to what Al-Shair did is Myles Garrett’s swinging helmet hanger. In 2019, Garrett Mason took Rudolph’s helmet off and swung it at him, which was just as dangerous as Al-Shaair’s headhunting of Lawrence, which gave him a horrific concussion. Garrett was suspended indefinitely, ultimately costing him six games. That seems to be a good precedent. Al-Shaair caused a ruckus after his ejection, removing his helmet and yelling at the Jaguars sideline before eventually heading to the locker room.

It was the type of hit the NFL has been trying to remove from the game for years. Daryl Johnston, the former Dallas Cowboys fullback and longtime Fox analyst, said the hit showed disrespect for a teammate.

“It’s everything you shouldn’t do. Everything,” Johnston said. “Azeez Al-Shair is doing everything you are trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. It is an honor that you show your opponent on the football field. He is respected.”

The impact of the hit could have significant consequences for the Jaguars. Not all players are the same, but a similar concussion to Tua Tagovailoa put his career in doubt after the 2022 season. Tagovailoa suffered another horrific concussion this season. It seems likely that Lawrence could miss the rest of this season, in part because the Jaguars are already out of the playoff race and don’t want to jeopardize their quarterback’s health, but also considering what Tagovailoa did after his first horrific concussion happened.

It’s not unprecedented for the NFL to suspend multiple player safety violations, and Al-Shair’s hit on Johnson earlier this season should have already been on his radar. Last season, Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the remainder of the season, a reckless hit on Colts receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and his repeated violations. This season, Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended one game for multiple violations of the league’s safety guidelines.

The hit to Lawrence’s head during the slide was worse than the hit to Kazee or James. The league also wants to protect quarterbacks, and that could be important in a high-profile hit on Lawrence that could keep him out for a while.

The NFL has expressed that it cares about player safety, punishing violations and eliminating dangerous plays. We’ll see.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 13 of the NFL season:

WINNER

The 10-2 Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings could have 13 or 14 wins without anyone noticing.

The Vikings were a big story early in the season, but then they faded into somewhat obscurity as the Detroit Lions sucked up all the oxygen in the NFC space. But the Vikings just keep winning and are 10-2 after a big comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings trailed 19-6 in the second half, but Sam Darnold made some big plays, including a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones with less than two minutes left. The Vikings intercepted Kyler Murray in the final minute to secure the 23-22 victory.

The Vikings are only one game behind the Lions in the NFC North and still have a direct duel in Detroit. The defense has played well all season, Darnold has generally been good, and most importantly, Minnesota continues to rack up wins.

Jayden Daniels: When the Washington Commanders lost three straight games, Daniels lost much of his lead in the race for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He didn’t collapse during this difficult stretch, but he didn’t play at the level he had at the beginning of his rookie season.

Everything seemed fine on Sunday. The Tennessee Titans don’t have a great team, but their defense is solid, and Daniels has delivered. The Commanders took a 28-0 halftime lead and returned to the playoffs with a 42-19 victory. Daniels also returned to the Offensive Rookie of the Year category.

Daniels threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns and added 35 yards rushing and a touchdown. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is ​​still in the running for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but Daniels once again established himself as the clear favorite on Sunday.

Anthony Richardson: When Richardson was benched, it wasn’t the end of the world for him or the Indianapolis Colts.

Richardson had a big moment on Sunday. With a deficit of 24:17, he led his team to victory in 19 games. With 12 seconds left, he hit Alec Pierce in the end zone for a touchdown and then used his size to storm into the end zone for a 2-point conversion for the lead. The Colts won 25-24, overcoming good play from Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and a 68-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye as time expired. The Patriots opted for the NFL-record field goal attempt instead of a Hail Mary, and Slye’s kick was short.

Richardson wasn’t great all game, throwing two interceptions and completing just 50 percent of his passes for 109 yards, but he came through when he needed to on the game-winning drive. This will give the team a lot more confidence that their development is on the right track.

NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks: There was a point on Sunday where the Seahawks’ day wasn’t looking so good. They followed the New York Jets. Meanwhile, the Cardinals defeated the Vikings.

It turned out pretty good. The Seahawks rallied for a 26-21 victory, behind a wild 92-yard pick-6 from defensive lineman Leonard Williams (the longest pick-6 in NFL history for a 300-pound player, via CBS) and a go-ahead touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet with less than six minutes remaining. Meanwhile, the Cardinals blew their 13-point lead. Seattle improved to 7-5 and remains in first place in the NFC West, while the Cardinals fell to 6-6.

It wasn’t always pretty for Seattle on Sunday, but they traveled across the country and picked up a win after falling behind 21-7. This significantly improves your chances of winning a division title.

LOSER

Kirk Cousins: Maybe it’s time for the Atlanta Falcons to have a conversation with Michael Penix Jr.

If Kirk Cousins ​​is bad, then he’s really bad. On Sunday, Cousins ​​was feeling really bad. He made four bad interceptions and the Atlanta Falcons had another disappointing day with a 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons had a chance to win the game late, but Cousins ​​held the ball too long and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. Atlanta couldn’t rally for a first down after that and Cousins ​​threw his fourth interception on a desperation fourth-down pass to end Atlanta’s chances.

It was hard to pick Cousins’ worst game. He threw a pick-6 on a casual pass down the sideline in the third quarter, which was obviously crucial to the final result.

Another Cousins ​​interception in the end zone was a big factor in the end. He rolled out and threw a pass to no one in the end zone that was easily deflected. If the Falcons had at least scored a field goal there, the Falcons’ final drive might have been different.

Cousins ​​was supposed to transform the Falcons’ offense, and at times he did. He also had enough bad moments to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stay in the NFC South race. Sunday was so bad that the Falcons may need to at least consider whether Penix, their first-round rookie, deserves a look.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Cincinnati Bengals conceded seven points due to a bad non-call. Wilson threw to George Pickens, who had been pulled to the ground by Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, and Taylor-Britt picked off Wilson and returned it for a touchdown. No penalty was awarded, even though it looked like a clear foul.

And despite that gift, the Bengals still lost.

The defense that got that lucky pick-6 gave everything back and more. The Bengals were split by Russell Wilson and lost 44-38. Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns, continuing his career resurgence. The Bengals’ defense has missed several big games against Joe Burrow this season and is the main reason Cincinnati is 4-8, eliminated from the playoffs and likely eliminated for good after Sunday’s home loss.

A few years ago, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was a hot name in head coaching interviews, but now he could be on the hot seat. Cincinnati’s defense was poor and even a pick-6 that probably shouldn’t have counted wasn’t enough help on Sunday.