Pittsburgh Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. has been fined $11,817 for his unneccceary roughness penalty early in the second half of Week 14’s win over the Cleveland Browns. Not only was it a costly play in the moment, it proved costly to Porter’s wallet. The NFL released its weekly list of fines with Porter the only Steeler tagged by the league this week.
It came after Porter retaliated against and shoved Browns WR Michael Woods II in the facemask in the third quarter, drawing a 15-yard personal foul.
The penalty aided Cleveland to start off the second half, entering Pittsburgh territory after RB Jerome Ford returned the opening kickoff across the 50. Fortunately, the penalty didn’t lead to points as the Steelers’ defense held firm and forced the Browns to settle for a field goal which K Dustin Hopkins missed. It was one of two misses Hopkins had on the afternoon. Pittsburgh went on to win the game 27-14, beating Cleveland after falling to them two weeks prior.
That was Porter’s only penalty of the day. Overall, a cleaner performance following a six-penalty mess the week prior against the Cincinnati Bengals. Still, Porter needs to go full games without drawing flags and he’ll be tested during and after plays in tomorrow’s game versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Porter has been flagged 15 times this year.
EDGE Alex Highsmith was not fined for his roughing the passer call that extended an early Cleveland drive. It was a borderline call but to the letter of the law, Highsmith’s two steps after the ball was released drew the flag.
All fines are pre-set amounts outlined by the CBA between the NFL and NFLPA. They are increased certain percentages each year with fine money being donated by the NFL to charities the league supports.
The Steelers and Eagles kickoff tomorrow at 4:25 PM/EST.
