Returning to the first quarter, well before the Patriots’ defense would make enough game-changing plays via a second-half shutout to secure the win, not long after Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray would leave the field, what how a serious looking non-contact knee injury on just his third play.
With less than four minutes left in the first quarter, Agholor’s colleague DeVante Parker caught a second-down pass from Mac Jones. Parker’s head was thrown onto the lawn in the ensuing duel. He was clearly confused, getting up slowly, his knees giving out as he swayed and tried to get up. He eventually got up, but with the completion in question, Jones and co. rushed back to the line of scrimmage and played one more game before they could be challenged.
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Agholor, lined up in the slot, could be seen looking over at Parker, who was lined up far to his left. Realizing his teammate was wrong, Agholor started waving his arms frantically, trying to get the officials’ attention so they could stop the game and get Parker off the field. The stoppage came, but only because Arizona coach Kliff Klingsbury threw a challenge flag. Parker was able to go to the dressing room and was later ruled out of the game with a head injury.
The first reaction is to credit Agholor for looking after his teammate’s well-being. On a night when there were so many injuries, starting with Murray and ending with Rhamondre Stevenson and Jack Jones being out for the Patriots in the game, there were many reminders of what a brutal football game can be. Good for Agholor to ensure Parkers wasn’t made worse by staying on the field too long.
But the sequence also raised bigger questions, starting with the NFL’s concussion spotter not seeing what Agholor clearly did. Troy Aikman, who called the game on ESPN, was also puzzled, saying of Parker, “He’s a little broken. They’ll be watching him, someone upstairs should be. He looked a little shaky after getting off the floor.”
Cardinals cornerback Marco Wilson (20) tackled Patriots receiver DeVante Parker in the first half. Darryl Webb/Associated Press
This season has already revealed flaws and forced changes to the league’s concussion protocols, dating back to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s September saga. It seems that every week we are reminded that more work needs to be done to ensure players are not at risk of suffering repeated hits to the head.
What happened to Tagovailoa will remain one of the most significant storylines of the season. Initially injured by a hit in a game against the Bills, Tagovailoa stumbled and seemed unable to keep his balance, and everyone watching immediately wondered if he had suffered a concussion.
However, he returned to the field with team doctors clearing him, attributing the worrying picture to a back injury he sustained earlier in the game. Tagovailoa finished that game and was back on the field four days later for a Thursday night matchup with Cincinnati. When he took another blow in the second quarter of that nationally televised competition, responding with the so-called fencing reaction, which saw his hands go into an awkwardly bent position, concern for his health was only exceeded by the outrage at his appearance in the first place the field.
The NFL investigated the series of events and, while confirming that Miami had followed protocol, admitted that the protocol had flaws. The league immediately added ataxia, which is the involuntary loss of muscle control, to the list of symptoms that warrant immediate removal from a game. Nevertheless, gaps remain in the policy. Just last weekend, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was thrown to the ground by Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith and left the game to be checked for a concussion.
Pickett reportedly cleared the log and quickly returned to the field. But after a series, a three-pointer, and out where he wasn’t attacked again, he left the game for good. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was later quoted as saying, “When he became symptomatic, he was taken out of the game and evaluated for a concussion,” but admitted, “I don’t know anything about the sequence or the details regarding the sequence.”
As medical experts continue to study the lifelong effects of concussion, the NFL must continue to keep up and do what it can to anticipate the devastating effects of an injury it has fought so long to exist. If that means expanding investigation of players beyond an immediate touchline moment and establishing protocols for delayed responses, do it.
If it means putting in a mechanism for players in a game to pause the game to help a sick teammate, do that too.
Maybe they could call it the Agholor rule. That night Agholor was on the lookout for Parker, a much bigger game than any of the five catches that showed up in the box score.
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Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Globe_Tara.