Will Kuechly's disturbing concussion be the turning point for NFL?

The concussion suffered by Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly on Thursday is one of the most disturbing moments ever televised during an NFL game, and may ultimately be remembered as the moment the dangers of head injuries in football finally became real in the eyes of many fans.

The history of televised sports is peppered with stomach-churning injuries broadcast to the world: NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk getting his neck slashed by a skate, NCAA basketball player Kevin Ware's compound fracture. (Click at your own risk.)

But there's something about Kuechly's raw vulnerability and fear after taking a blow to the head that's disturbing on a much deeper level.

Broken bones, even shattered bones, heal. Brains don't necessarily recover.

Kuechly missed 34 days and three games last season after suffering a concussion in Week 1. Upon his return, he told The MMQB's Peter King that he wouldn't let fear of another brain injury keep him off the field:

"It's a game I love to play so much," Kuechly said. "I'm going to play it as long as I can. Everybody at this level makes a choice, and you know what you sign up for. I have my mind right. I know what I'm doing. I know the risks. I love the game. I’m going to keep playing it."

It's comments like this that made his reaction to Thursday's concussion so hard for fans and NBC's commentators to understand. We see NFL players as superheroes, so many assumed Kuechly must have suffered a season-ending leg injury to react like that.

"He's a warrior, those tears are because he won't be able to continue the fight alongside his teammates," fans reassured each other.

Luke Kuechly is a human with human vulnerabilities.

Former NFL tight end Christian Fauria shed some light on it:

Kuechly's frightening reaction is a window into the world of concussions we hadn't seen previously. This wasn't a player walking groggily to the sideline, then the locker room, then racing to clear protocol so he could play the next week.

"The fans are more interested in football," Roger Goodell said on the topic of concussions in a recent Sports Illustrated interview. "We are the ones who make safety a priority. They support that because they want to see their players play. ... (But) I'd be fooling you if I don’t say: I hear guys that say, 'Just let them play.'"

He's not necessarily wrong. But that may have - should have - changed with the image of Kuechly's tears.

This was a helpless man fearing for his life.

Kuechly is no less helpless today and probably won't be tomorrow, either. There's no roadmap for recovering from a concussion - if one ever truly does. It's plausible he'll never play again.

The NFL is a league with problems. TV ratings are way down this season, everyone hates the commissioner, and no one knows what a catch is anymore.

Those are problems that can be solved.

There is no bigger crisis for the sport of football than the one laid bare Thursday, gulping back tears on the field in front of America.

That problem might never have an answer. But we have to try to find one.