Chiefs fan cheer when Cassel hurt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Members of the Kansas City Chiefs angrily spoke out Sunday against thousands of fans who cheered when quarterback Matt Cassel left a 9-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a head injury.

Cassel has been the focus of frustrated fans for the past couple years, many of them booing him when he appeared during a celebrity softball game this summer. Some had even hired an airplane to fly over Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday with a banner asking for him to be benched.

The angst reached a tipping point when Cassel, who committed four turnovers against Baltimore, was hammered by the Ravens’ Haloti Ngata while completing a pass in the fourth quarter.

Cassel remained on his back for several minutes while fans began to cheer. He eventually got to his feet with some help and walked off the field under his own power.

“It’s 100-percent sickening,” Chiefs tackle Eric Winston said. “I’ve never, ever — and I’ve been in some rough times on some rough teams — I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life to play football than at that moment right there. I get emotional about it because these guys, they work their butts off. Matt Cassel hasn’t done anything to you people.

“Hey, if he’s not the best quarterback, he’s not the best quarterback, and that’s OK, but he’s a person,” Winston continued, the big offensive lineman’s voice slowly rising. “And he got knocked out in a game and we’ve got 70,000 people cheering that he got knocked out.”

Cassel was intercepted twice by the Ravens, though both passes were tipped. He was also hit with two lost fumbles, one of them on a pitch that was mishandled by running back Cyrus Gray and the other on a flubbed exchange with Kansas City facing first-and-goal at the Baltimore 1.

“When someone gets booed, it’s not right. It’s his health. You know what I’m saying? He got hurt. You have to respect,” said Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles said. “It wasn’t right that he got booed.”

Once a Pro Bowl quarterback, Cassel is completing just 58.5 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. He’s averaging just 6.5 yards per pass attempt.

“I knew I hit him hard, but I didn’t think it was hard enough to take him out. I thought I hit him right in the ribs,” Ngata said.

As for the cheering? Even the Ravens thought it uncouth.

“For them to cheer for him being hurt,” Ngata said, “that’s just not cool.”

Vikings S Harrison Smith ejected for pushing ref

MINNEAPOLIS — A split-second after Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith pushed back judge Steve Freeman aside during a confrontation with several Tennessee Titans, the rookie already knew he made a big mistake.

The realization came too late.

Smith was ejected in the second quarter on Sunday after pushing the official in Minnesota’s 30-7 victory over the Titans. It was the first time a player has been ejected from a game this season, and just so happened to come with Commissioner Roger Goodell at the Metrodome.

“Right after it happened, I realized I put my hands on the official,” Smith said. “You just can’t do it, period. So, I apologize to him. I apologize to my coaches, to my teammates, to the fans. It’s just unacceptable.”

Redskins QB Griffin leaves loss with concussion

LANDOVER, Md. — After taking a shot to his helmet while scrambling to try to avoid a sack, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III stayed face-down for a few moments Sunday, then eventually staggered to his feet with a concussion.

For Griffin, also treated for a cut on his chin after the third-and-goal play, the game was over about 10 minutes into the second half.

“He wasn’t sure what quarter it was in the third quarter. So at that time, when he wasn’t really sure what the score was, what the quarter was, we knew he had a mild concussion — at least according to the doctors,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said after his team fell to 2-3.

“It feels good right now; a lot better right now. But that was ... why he didn’t go back into the game.”

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