Rams defensive end Chris Long came away with a win over his younger brother Kyle‘s Chicago Bears on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean he enjoyed himself.
In fact, when speaking with reporters following St. Louis’ 42-21 victory, the elder brother seemed more relieved than excited.
“That was a hell of a week,” Chris said, per the Chicago Tribune. “It’s not fun. I don’t want to play my brother. I don’t find it fun to have to compete against your brother in a game where it is so violent. But luckily we barely touched each other, so that was good.”
Frustrations appeared to boil over in the second quarter for Chicago, which has now dropped two of its last three games. Tony Fiammetta wrestled Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson down by the face mask after Johnson scooped up an incomplete pass and attempted to return it, leading to a scrum that almost got Kyle Long ejected from the game. The younger Long appeared to be lining up to kick Rams defensive end William Hayes, but Chris Long sprinted in from the sideline and yanked his brother away from the fray.
“I was just trying to keep the peace,” Chris said. “My brother plays with a lot of emotion, [Hayes] plays with a lot of emotion. One of my best friends is obviously my brother. [The Bears] already had the flag and there is no need for us to get a flag, so I tried to pull his big ass out of there and get on with it.”
Hayes said the Bears’ Long came to him and apologized after the incident, adding that he harbors no ill will toward the sibling of his fellow Rams D-end.
“I’ve met Kyle a couple times and he is a great guy,” Hayes said. “So there weren’t any hard feelings. He apologized. He tried to kick me, but I don’t care about that. That doesn’t bother me because it’s heat of the moment. If it was anybody else, we probably would have had a problem, but I play with his brother and I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
Kyle Long declined to discuss the scrap with Hayes after the game, saying only that he “lost [his] cool.”
Photo via Twitter/@BuzzeronFOX
