Mason Rudolph knows he is not blameless for the Browns-Steelers mayhem.

“With how I played, I did not do a good enough job to help our team win the game. On the second-to-last play of the game, I fell short of the mark. I should have done a better job at keeping my cool in that situation,” the 24-year-old Steelers quarterback told reporters in a prepared statement on Wednesday.

“There’s no acceptable excuse.”

The infamous brawl broke out Thursday night with eight seconds left on the clock and the Browns up 21-7 when the Steelers quarterback took a late shot from Myles Garrett. The Browns defensive end ripped Rudolph’s helmet off and hit him on the head with it. Garrett, Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey were all ejected as a result.

“I put Maurkice Pouncey, probably one of the best teammates I’ve ever had, in a tough spot, as well as my [other] teammates,” Rudolph said.

“To say the least, it was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved. … [I] did not agree with the way [Garrett] then took me to the ground, and my natural reaction was just to get him off from on top of me. Again, I should have done a better job of handling that situation. … I have no ill will towards Myles Garrett. Great respect for his ability as a player, I know if Myles could go back, he would handle the situation differently.”

The rivalry game had been riddled with penalties and injuries to key members of the Steelers offense. Receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson both sustained nasty helmet-to-helmet hits from members of the Browns secondary. Damarious Randall was ejected for the illegal hit on Johnson.

“We had already lost two of our players to targeting penalties from the game and as I released the ball, I took a late shot,” Rudolph said.

He was asked if the earlier penalties and hits had any bearing on the incident with Garrett.

“No, I think it was isolated,” Rudolph said. “Those things happen.”

The league was swift to pass down judgment. Fewer than 12 hours after the fight, the NFL announced that Garrett was suspended indefinitely without pay for violating unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules. The suspension will last at least the remainder of the regular season and postseason. His punishment is the longest suspension in NFL history for a single on-field incident. Garrett, 23, appealed the suspension on Wednesday, and a ruling is expected in the next day or two, sources told ESPN.

“I think it’s in the best interest for our team, my teammates, my coaches to move forward from this. Move things on to the Cincinnati Bengals and try to stack some wins here,” Rudolph said.

The 5-5 Steelers face the winless Bengals on Sunday.