Denver Broncos

Linebacker Brandon Marshall says Denver Broncos aren't dirty

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Even with evidence they were targeting Cam Newton last Thursday night, Denver Broncos’ linebacker Brandon Marshall says he and his teammates aren’t dirty.

The hits the Denver Broncos levied on Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton last Thursday night, to be kind, stretched the boundaries of the rule book. Only the last of four helmet-to-helmet hits on Newton was penalized on the field, and even that one was negated by an intentional grounding penalty.

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall had arguably the most egregious of the hits on Newton, with a clear launch at the head of the Panthers quarterback as he approached the line of scrimmage and let go of a pass.

Inflicting punishment on Newton was clearly a priority for Denver’s defense, and they succeeded on the way to a victory. But, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, Marshall has dismissed the notion of dirty play on the part of he and his teammates.

“We’re not dirty,” Marshall said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “When I think of dirty, I think of stepping on somebody’s ankle at the bottom of a pile [or] twisting somebody around. Stuff like that. We just play hard, man. We hit hard. We play fast. We play faster than any defense in the league.

“Just because we hit Cam in the head a couple of times, that doesn’t make us dirty. Look at some of the dirty plays in the league. There are a lot of dirty players, and that’s not our M.O.”

Marshall is obviously going to defend the Broncos’ tactics as necessary, and not at all malicious with intent to injure Newton. As Pro Football Talk’s Darin Gantt suggested, one helmet-to-helmet hit would be easy to dismiss as a mistake by a would-be tackler. But the repeated illegal hits during the second half last Thursday night invite speculation about targeting Newton, with evidence to support the theory.

Marshall’s crouch and obvious launch upward on Newton belongs on any poster the NFL could have regarding what constitutes an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. He is sure to be fined for it, likely with a more significant hit to his game check than any of his offending teammates from Week 1.