Jordan Akins #88 of the Houston Texans takes a hit to the helmet from Harrison Smith #22 of the Minnesota Vikings after making a catch as Eric Kendricks #54 also makes the tackle during the second quarter at NRG Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Houston … ((Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Vikings were already thin in the secondary facing the Houston Texans, then safety Harrison Smith got ejected from the game late in the first half of Minnesota's 31-23 win Sunday.
Smith, on a pass caught over the middle by Jordan Akins, lowered his head and led with his helmet on a tackle to bring Akins down. Smith was flagged on the play and subsequently ejected for the hit, deemed as flagrant.
NFL rules define a flagrant hit as extremely objectionable, conspicuous, unnecessary, avoidable or gratuitous. It doesn’t imply malice or intent to injure the player.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was livid with officials on the field after Smith's ejection. He said after the game the decision came from the league office.
"I love Harrison Smith like he’s my son. My issue is the quarterbacks can throw the ball in the middle of the field and there’s no repercussions whatsoever. Harrison not a dirty player, he’s never been a dirty player and I feel like he tried to get his shoulder in there. The league office ejected him. They want to give us a penalty? Fine. But don’t eject guys. This guy is one of the best players in the NFL and one of the best people in the NFL. He’s not a dirty player. That’s what irritated me," Zimmer said.
Running back Dalvin Cook, who finsihed with 146 total yards and two touchdowns, said the team rallied around Smith at hafltime.
"Harry is one of our emotional leaders. He really doesn’t talk a lot, he just shows it by example. You’ve got to go out there and fight for a guy like that, so as soon as he walked off the field, we told him we was going to bring this one back for him.," Cook said. "When we went into the locker room at halftime, I told him personally were bringing this back to the locker room for you. It wasn’t perfect at the end, but we brought it back and that’s what it’s about in the NFL, just winning football games."
Smith made three tackles before getting ejected, and is one of the key pieces to a Vikings’ secondary lacking experience, already without Mike Hughes and Kris Boyd out Sunday.
The Texans got a field goal out of the drive, and Akins is out for the game in the concussion protocol.
Not only is Smith out for the rest of Sunday's game, he could be suspended for next week's game at Seattle. He'll likely at the very least be fined for the hit.
"It’s tough to see your teammate get ejected out of the game. We all love this game and we all love to play. To have one of our teammates get ejected, that’s tough. We just wanted to play for him and make some plays for him and know that we’ve got his back," receiver Justin Jefferson said.