The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up their second loss of the season Sunday against the Oakland Raiders and safety Ryan Mundy likely will pick up a $21,000 fine for his early fourth quarter helmet-to-helmet hit on wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Heyward-Bey was injured while trying to make a catch in the end zone during the Raiders drive that set up the game tying field goal. The collision was certainly not egregious or intentional, but the fact that Mundy made contact with the helmet of Heyward-Bey, it is almost automatic that he will be the second Steelers player to be fined for such a hit this season.
“I didn’t go in there trying to hit him with my helmet,” Mundy said after the game. “Things like that happen so fast. He may have come down to the level of my helmet. I have to see the replay, I don’t know. … Unfortunately, things like that do happen. From my standpoint, they’re never intentional.”
The game was delayed as Heyward-Bey was taken off of the field on a stretcher and immediately to a local hospital for observation.
Last week linebacker Lawrence Timmons was fined $21,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
Below is a video animated gif of the hit.
