The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a brutal 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round last weekend, but they didn’t take any further hits with any fines in the game. One Ravens player was fined, with S Ar’Darius Washington being fined $5,472 for illegal use of helmet. That play came with 5:14 remaining in the third quarter, a three-yard run by RB Najee Harris. The fine was announced on the NFL Gameday Accountability page.
The Steelers did have a fine in Week 18, with WR George Pickens being fined, going over $90,000 in total fines for the season. But in a game where the Steelers were pretty much dominated from start to finish, no one did something that wound up being worthy of a fine.
On the play Washington is low, he seems to run it and lower his head against WR Ben Skowronek, who is tasked with blocking him. Given that he led with his head, it’s no surprise that Washington was fined, as that’s something the NFL looks for and is pretty much an automatic fine.
No flag was thrown on the play.
On the end zone view of the play, you can get a better look of Washington running in and lowering his helmet.
All fines collected go to the Professional Athletes Foundation to help NFL legends in need as well as the NFL Foundation, which provides money to support the health, wellness and safety of athletes across all levels.
It’s rare for a game between the Steelers and Ravens to be relatively clean, but with the Ravens up 21-0 at the end of the first half, there wasn’t much of an opportunity for the Steelers to try and impose their will and the blowout didn’t lead to the chippiness that is normally expected of a game between the Steelers and the Ravens.
