It looks as if most of the fines for this week have been handed out and it seems as if Oakland Raiders linebacker Phillip Wheeler will likely get away with lunging into the legs of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger early in the second half of the 34-31 Sunday loss if no fine is announced today.
As you can see in the animated gif below, Wheeler makes a last second lunge for the lower legs of the quarterback, which ultimately drops Roethlisberger to ground in pain. Wheeler was not flagged on the play and it does not appear that he will be fined either.
Wheeler was shoved in the back by right tackle Kelvin Beachum on the play, but it is not enough to force him forward, only down. Wheeler makes his move towards Roethlisberger on all fours.
Roethlisberger did sport a limp after he got up, but that seemed to go away as the game wore on. On Wednesday the Steelers quarterback was asked about the hit.
“I felt it. I didn\’t know what happened. I saw it on film. Technically, it\’s against the rules; you\’re on the ground, you go at a guy\’s legs — but when\’s the last time I got a call? You know me, I don\’t complain about it, I never like to call someone dirty. I don\’t think it was necessarily dirty, I hope he wasn\’t trying to hurt me. I think he was trying to get me down but I don\’t think you have to do it that way.”
Roethlisberger pretty much summed everything up nicely. It\’s against the rules, but he isn\’t going to get that call. If Wheeler receives a fine, we should likely hear about by later on today. I am betting he gets off completely.
