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Kyle Long: 'I Lost My Cool'

By Adam Hoge-

ST. LOUIS (CBS) — Kyle Long is fortunate he was able to play the entire game Sunday.

The Bears right guard was called for a personal foul in the second quarter and may have been ejected had he landed his kick intended for Rams defensive end William Hayes.

What started as confusion following an incomplete pass ended up a brawl as the referees failed to blow the whistle and the Rams picked up the ball, running with it towards the end zone. Long ended up flattening Hayes to the ground, apparently because Hayes took a shot at quarterback Josh McCown.

Long ended up trying to kick Hayes, but he whiffed. Center Roberto Garza and Kyle's brother, Chris, then pulled him back.

"You can't lose your cool and I lost my cool," Kyle Long said after the game.

He wouldn't elaborate though, saying, "I'm just going to talk football."

Chris Long, who plays defensive end for the Rams, wasn't even on the field for the play, but he ran over from the sideline to pull his brother away.

"It's tough. One of your best friends (Hayes) and your brother. During the game, you think about it, but it's not the first time I've restrained him. I think both of those big strong guys probably needed to be restrained there. They're two of the strongest people I know," Chris Long said.

Chris wasn't really willing to admit that he was helping his brother though.

"If pulling him out of the pile and yoking him is helping him... I'm trying to get him off my teammate just like any other situation that would would arise," Chris Long said. "I don't want us to get a flag, and one way to defuse that situation is to get everybody out of there. He happened to be the body that I saw."

After the game, Chris, Kyle and their father Howie Long all talked outside the Bears locker room.

Meanwhile, referee Jerome Boger said he never saw the kick by Kyle.

"I was one of the covering officials on that play and what I had on the unnecessary roughness call was for piling on, that he piled onto a player already on the ground. I didn't see a kick by him," Boger said.

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Three fouls were ultimately called on the Bears on the play. McCown was called for intentional grounding even though his pass appeared to be redirected by the hit he took as he threw the ball. Then, after the whistle never blew, fullback Tony Fiammetta was called for face mask going after the ball and Long was called for the unnecessary roughness foul, which was the penalty ultimately accepted by the Rams.

Adam Hoge covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.

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