TAMPA Bay Buccaneers punter Jack Camarda has been caught by cameras swinging his helmet at Buffalo Bills defensive end Gregory Rousseau on Thursday Night Football.
But the incident, labeled by Amazon Prime Video announcer Al Michaels as "MMA action," divided NFL fans.
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Camarda, 24, struck Rousseau, 24, as a multi-player scuffle broke out halfway through the second quarter of Buffalo's 24-18 win.
But the officials didn't punish the Buccaneers punter, causing outrage on social media.
Many NFL fans likened the altercation to the brawl between Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett from the 2019 NFL season.
In a clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Garrett pulled the helmet off quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head.
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However, other NFL fans rushed to Camarda's defense.
They claimed Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard ripped the helmet of the former fourth-round pick's defense's head and the punter involuntarily swung his arm, hitting Rousseau.
"I'm a Bills fan but if you watch the whole video someone was grabbing his mask and he ripped it off. Hard to say be certain if it was intentional," one wrote.
"Not what happened. Someone pulled it off. He grabbed it and got pulled back and his arm flailed. And I have no horse in the race," another added.
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"Bernard ripped his helmet off… punter grabbed it and was bringing it down and just happened to hit the Bills player. Don’t make this more than what it actually is," a third said.
"Bernard pushed it off his head. He was just trying to take it the rest of the way off and they were in the way," one wrote.
One of the officials initially threw the flag on the field before determining that there was no foul on the play.
But if the NFL takes a closer look at the incident and rules that Camarda deserves a punishment, the Bucs could face a lengthy suspension.
Garrett missed the Browns' final six games of the 2019 season after striking Rudolph.
Earlier in the Week 8 matchup between the Bucs and Bills, quarterback Josh Allen stared down Tampa Bay's cornerback Jamel Dean on a touchdown run in another heated moment of the night.
