An end-zone scrum turns into lighter wallets for several Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles players from Week 15. Several players involved in the dust-up after TE Darnell Washington traversed CB Darius Slay through the back of the end zone have been fined for their actions. Per the league, TE Darnell Washington and WR Calvin Austin III were fined for unsportsmanlike conduct while Slay and fellow Eagles CB Quinyon Mitchell were fined for the same infraction.
Per the league’s operations page, Washington and Slay were fined $14,069 while Austin and Mitchell were fined $6,173. The differences are for second and first offenses.
Of course, only Washington and Austin were penalized in-game for the scrum despite an obvious punch Slay threw at Washington. After the game, head referee Alan Eck told said in a pool report that their and the league’s determination was no Eagles threw punches. Video footage says otherwise.
The fact Slay and Mitchell were fined is a quiet admission from the NFL they should’ve been penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, too. Had they been flagged, the penalties would’ve been offsetting, and the Steelers’ offense wouldn’t have walked back 15 yards, putting them in second-and-long and turning a potential touchdown drive into a field goal.
Elsewhere, Eagles DT Jalen Carter was fined $11,817 for unnecessary roughness for his head slap on Steelers TE Connor Heyward right before a Corliss Waitman punt. Carter’s actions were penalized but the NFL deemed it occurred after Waitman’s punt, allowing the Eagles to keep possession. Though a bang-bang moment, the slap happened right before Waitman booted the ball.
Those were two of several questionable calls in the Steelers’ 27-13 loss.
Two other Eagles players were fined. DB Sydney Brown was fined $6,981 yards for illegally using his helmet on the opening kickoff, resulting in a hard collision with RB/KR Jaylen Warren. Brown was injured on the play. Eagles LB Zack Baun was fined $8,888 for a hip-drop tackle on TE Pat Freiermuth on his first catch of the day. Surprisingly, CB James Pierre was not fined for what appeared to be a hip-drop tackle on WR A.J. Brown late in the game.
All fine amounts are pre-set by the CBA and increase a set percentage each year. Fine money is donated by the NFL to charity.
