Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Phil Taylor didn't come out and say why, but he hinted that Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice spit on him, prompting him to smack the running back on the helmet, drawing a 15-yard penalty.

“Look at the film, you will see . . . I’m not going to say. It is what it is. I need to keep my composure,” Taylor told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Teammate D'Qwell Jackson said he heard someone say they got spit on in the game.

“I heard a guy scream he got spit on,” Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson said. “If guys are spitting, that’s immature. That’s elementary. We’re all grown men. There’s no need to spit on a guy. I don’t know if it was Ray, but apparently someone got spit on.”

Meanwhile, Rice has other issues, as he is day-to-day with a hip injury.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com