Bengals linebacker Carl Lawson almost made a play, but Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer got the ball out before he could record his sack.
That wasn’t all that got away from him.
“When I’m bringing him down I see my teeth just in the air,” Lawson said, via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’m like, ‘oh crap.’
“It didn’t hurt. I just saw my teeth in the air.”
They were able to joke about it after the fact, because they were beating the Browns 31-0 at the time, and Lawson wasn’t wearing a mouthpiece at the time. Linebacker Kevin Minter scolded him for not wearing one.
“You’re gonna listen now ain’t ya?” Minter said. “I’ve been telling him since training camp.”
But Lawson seemed to be looking at it more conditionally.
“Either way, it was a freak accident, mouthpiece or not,” Lawson said. “A hit on the quarterback. I was hitting the quarterback. If it had gotten knocked out any other play, I probably would have been a little bit more upset. It was a good rush. I sacrificed my teeth for it. . . .
“If it was for a sack, probably. Sack-forced fumble, then yeah. But I’m kind of mad they said he was throwing the ball forward. It’s unfortunate.”
Lawson will be seeing the dentist today to get the two front teeth repaired, and said that in the future, he planned to follow Minter’s advice.