Mason Rudolph calls helmet attack by Myles Garrett 'cowardly,' 'bush league'

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph didn't mince his words when asked about Myles Garrett's actions at the end of Thursday night's football game in Cleveland.

With less than 10 seconds remaining in the game, Garrett sacked Rudolph and the two appeared to tussle and exchange words before Garrett ripped Rudolph's helmet off his head and promptly hit him with it.

Multiple Steelers players quickly interfered to separate the defensive end and the quarterback as yellow flags rained down on the field. A brawl ensued in the end zone that included Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey kicking Garrett while he was on the ground. Garrett, Pouncey and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi were ejected from the game.

See photos from the incident:

Rudolph, predictably, was asked to comment on the night's biggest story during his postgame press conference.

"I thought it was pretty cowardly," he said, calling the helmet attack "bush league" and assuring reporters that he felt "fine" after the hit.

According to Rudolph, Garrett "had some words" and "kept on keeping on," causing the interaction to escalate into violence.

After the game, Garrett called his actions "foolish" and "embarrassing" but stopped short of apologizing. According to the state of Ohio, Garrett's swinging of the helmet could be considered assault, and Rudolph's agent implied in a tweet Thursday night that legal action may be in the cards.

The Steelers lost to the Browns 21-7 but remain a game ahead of Cleveland for second place in the AFC North.