Madden NFL 18is an American football simulation video game, developed by EA Sports and published for PS4 & XboxOne in 2017. Features all features of authentic National Football League, unique Ultimate Team Mode, Franchise Mode, Longshot Career Mode. Players will feel like playing real football in Madden 18.
Yet another brutal showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers serves as a reminder that the rivalry - even before the latest ugly meeting won by Pittsburgh and resulting in one-game suspensions for JuJu Smith-Schuster and George Iloka - has forced the NFL to make four rule changes. A review of those four changes (or clarifications/reminders), all since 2006:
2016: The "Joey Porter rule"
Toward the end of the infamous AFC Wild Card game won 18-16 by the Steelers, Pittsburgh assistant coach Joey Porter went onto the field to check on injured Antonio Brown following Vontaze Burfict's hit.
Porter was fined $10,000 following an altercation with Bengals defensive back Adam Jones, but he was not penalized when it happened. Jones was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
This rule allows only head coaches onto the field to check on injured players.
2006: The "Carson Palmer rule"
Some call the rule designed to protect quarterbacks' knees the "Tom Brady rule," but it was the "Carson Palmer rule" first.
In the AFC Wild Card matchup between the Bengals and Steelers in January, the Steelers' Kimo von Oelhoffen hit Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer on the second play from scrimmage in the knee on a long pass play, tearing Palmer's ACL.
During the offseason, the NFL's competition committee proposed a rule change in the interest of quarterbacks' safety.
The rule: "A rushing defender is prohibited from forcibly hitting in the knee area or below a passer who has one or both feet on the ground, even if the initial contact is above the knee. It is not a foul if the defender is blocked (or fouled) into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him."
During a 38-10 Pittsburgh win, Hines Ward blindsided Bengals linebacker and first-round draft pick (earlier that year) Keith Rivers with a vicious block, breaking his jaw. Rivers was never the same.
It was a legal hit at the time that would later draw a 15-yard penalty after the rule change making blindside blocks illegal if the blocker's helmet, shoulder or forearm makes contact with the head or neck area of the opponent, who is considered defenseless in that situation.
The Steelers, ironically, were the only team to vote against the rule.
2016: Clarification on helmet-to-helmet hits and leading with the crown of the helmet
The interpretation of a helmet-to-helmet hit was changed after Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier - the player who seriously injured his back while making a tackle on Monday night - used the crown of his helmet to contact Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, who suffered a concussion.
Shazier was not penalized because officials said Bernard wasn't a defenseless receiver, adding that Shazier didn't deliberately line up "head on" with Bernard.
The NFL's clarification prohibits defensive players from leading with the crown of the helmet outside the tackle box, no matter which angle is taken by the tackler.
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