The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have any players fined in their Week Nine win over the Tennessee Titans, in a game where neither team ended up getting hit with any fines.
Pittsburgh had two plays that looked like they could be fine-worthy. OLB T.J. Watt had a roughing the passer penalty against Will Levis in the first quarter, a play that’s one the NFL has tended to fine players for this season.
Watt, who was fined for a hit on the quarterback in Pittsburgh’s Week Eight loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars, avoided a fine for the hit on Levis, which was penalized in the game.
One other player that could’ve been considered worthy of a fine was a facemask penalty by CB Joey Porter Jr. on running back Tyjae Spears in the first quarter.
There was only one fine this week for a hit on a quarterback, with that coming against Los Angeles Chargers DE Nick Bosa. There were no fines for any facemask penalties this week, with the majority of fines coming as a result of unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
For Pittsburgh, it’s the second game this season where they’ve avoided any fines. They also were not fined in their Week Four loss to the Houston Texans, although Texans DL Kurt Hinish was hit with a fine that game. This week was the first game the Steelers have played where both teams walked away without a fine.
The NFL has gotten criticism with how on-field fines have been handled in recent weeks, with NFLPA President J.C. Tretter and the NFLPA issuing a statement this week.
This week, a season-low 17 fines were given out. Whether or not it’s a correlation to the increasing negative feedback about how fines are handled will be seen the rest of the season. For reference, there were 31 fines handed out in Week 8, so there were 14 less plays that the league determined were worth fining in Week Nine.
In particular, RB Jaylen Warren’s multiple fines this season have been criticized around the league, namely by former NFL All-Pro and brother of T.J. Watt, J.J. Watt. Warren was essentially fined two game checks for lowering his helmet to initiate contact, once as a runner and once as a pass blocker. Warren had a run where he appeared to initiate contact with his helmet against Tennessee, but luckily he did avoid a fine for it.
The Steelers will look to keep their money in their own pockets again tomorrow in their matchup with the Green Bay Packers and pull out their sixth win of the season.
