Ravens coach John Harbaugh defended Terrell Suggs' much-discussed hit on Eagles QB Sam Bradford when he spoke to Baltimore reporters on Monday.

In the first quarter, Suggs went low on Bradford after he handed the ball off to running back Darren Sproles. He was flagged for roughing the passer — the wrong penalty under any circumstances — and NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino said on Monday morning it was a legal hit. Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly countered that it was not a read-option play, thus Bradford should not be considered a runner. But it's hard for the defense to figure that out when it has only a few seconds to react.

Left tackle Jason Peters and Bradford suggested Suggs launched himself into the quarterback's knees on purpose. The former first overall pick is coming off his second ACL surgery in less than two years. This was the first live action Bradford had seen in just about a year.

Harbaugh took exception with those comments.

“As I read most of the Eagles’ quotes, I thought they understood the play. One or two of them didn’t understand the play,” Harbaugh said, via the team website.

“When you start popping off about somebody’s character, you’ve crossed the line. That’s not really something that we respect. But most of those guys understood the play and understood that (Suggs) was playing hard and trying to get it stopped.”

Deadspin caught another potentially dirty play involving the Ravens in that same game. Linebacker Albert McClellan appeared to punch an Eagles offensive lineman in the gut.

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Whenever these two teams see each other next, they will likely not be on the best terms. It was an awfully heated environment for a meaningless preseason game.