You Probably Shouldn't Be Able To Strangle A Guy On A Football Field

On Sunday, the Browns finally looked like the team everyone hoped they would be in 2019, beating the Ravens 40-25 while putting up 530 total yards of offense. Even more impressive is that they were able to do all that without much of a contribution from Odell Beckham Jr., who finished the game with just 20 yards on two receptions. Beckham spent most of the game being covered by Marlon Humphrey, whose approach to shutting down one of the best receivers in the league included strangulation.

Beckham and Humphrey were playing chippy all game, and their battle eventually culminated with Beckham throwing a punch and Humphrey breaking out a two-hand choke hold:

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens was angry that Humphrey, who went for the choke right in front of a referee, wasn’t immediately ejected from the game. “They get away with that because it’s Odell,” he said afterwards. Beckham seemed less bothered by the whole thing, only making a crack about how he was upset about losing his earring in the scuffle.

For his part, Humphrey claims that he ran into Beckham after the game and apologized for choking him:

Even though Humphrey was allowed to stay in the game yesterday, it’s likely that once the league office reviews the incident he’ll be hit with at least a hefty fine. Maybe the office should also have a conversation with the referee who watched Humphrey put his hands around an opponent’s neck and decided all he needed to do was throw a flag.