What we learned during Week 15 of the 2023 NFL season

Steelers safety Damontae Kazee has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the regular season and any potential playoff games for “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players,” the NFL announced Monday. The season-ending suspension was levied two days after Kazee laid a dangerous hit to the head on Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. that resulted in Pittman being concussed and Kazee being ejected in the second quarter of Indianapolis’ eventual 30-13 victory.

After Saturday’s game, Pittman shared a message via social media saying, “I’m all good,” but head coach Shane Steichen said Sunday that Pittman remains in the concussion protocol. At the moment, Pittman’s availability is unclear for the Colts' next game at Atlanta on Christmas Eve.

“It probably shouldn’t happen,” Steichen said of Kazee’s hit. “He led with the crown of his helmet, and you never want to see that, you know what I mean? Do those happen in football sometimes? Yeah, but you don’t want to see it. That’s all I’ll say.”

In a letter to Kazee, NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan called Kazee’s illegal hit on Pittman “a serious violation of the playing rules.” When Kazee delivered the blow, a hush fell over the crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium as Pittman laid on the ground. Several players on both teams took a knee until Pittman was able to get up and walk off the field. The star receiver briefly sat on a table on the sideline before heading to the locker room with an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant.

“The video of the play shows that you delivered a forcible blow to the head/neck area of Colts’ receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who was in a defenseless posture,” Runyan wrote in his letter to Kazee. “You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided.”

Kazee has appeared in all 14 games for the Steelers this year and started the last seven. He’s totaled two interceptions, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.

However, Kazee's hit on Pittman was the final straw in a season filled with violations. The 30-year-old was previously fined five times for unnecessary roughness for a total of $59,030, and his three-game season-ending suspension will cost him roughly another $208,000. Kazee’s base salary this year is $1.25 million.

“When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose substantially greater penalties,” Runyan noted.

Kazee will appeal his suspension, a source told The Athletic’s Mark Kaloby. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin defended his player’s intentions and reputation Monday.

"The target was low and both guys were going,” Tomlin said. “It was just unfortunate. I know he is not a dirty player. He doesn't aspire to do some of the things that came to light under those circumstances.”

Colts assistant defensive backs coach Mike Mitchell, who played in Pittsburgh from 2014 to 2017, appeared to take the side of Kazee and his former team.

"I don’t know what to tell my safeties anymore," Mitchell shared via social media Monday. "I guess just let them catch it. If I were a WR, I would dive for every catch. That would ensure no contact and a completed pass. Playing deep safety in today’s NFL, where rules are made mostly by people who’ve never played, is tough."

The Colts were able to survive without Pittman against the Steelers. But if he’s sidelined for an extended period of time that would be a big loss as Indianapolis – currently clinging to the final AFC playoff spot at 8-6 – tries to reach the postseason for the first time since 2020.

Pittman, 26, is having a career year. He ranks third in the NFL with 99 catches for 1,062 yards and four TDs. He now has two 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his career, joining Colts greats Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton as the only players with multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons in franchise history.

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