INDIANAPOLIS — The hit Malik Hooker laid on Dede Westbrook was seismic.
Flying forward at full speed, Hooker lowered his body, aimed his shoulder pads at Westbrook’s waist and drove through the receiver's hips. Hooker wrapped his right arm around Westbrook's waist and his left arm around his hamstring.
Westbrook was driven back three yards. The ball flew out of his hands. The pass was ruled incomplete; it looked as if it could have been a fumble.
A ferocious football hit, the kind that has fired up defenses for decades.
“I felt like after that happened, we got our engine rolling a little bit,” Hooker said.