The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets played a pretty clean game overall with very few penalties, but neither team was able to escape fines from the league office. Steelers TE Connor Heyward was fined for a late hit on special teams while Jets DE Will McDonald IV was fined for a violent gesture, per the NFL operations page.
Here is Heyward’s late hit, which came with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter.
For a player who has kept his roster spot through good special teams play, this was an inexcusable late hit. It was very obviously late and served no purpose towards the play. Not only did it cost the Steelers 15 yards of field position, it also cost Heyward $6,327.
McDonald’s violent gesture was a grenade toss where he pulled the pin, tossed a fake grenade and then covered his ears. This play came with 10:56 remaining in the third quarter. It was a sack celebration that will cost him $14,491. George Pickens was fined for putting his hands in the shape of a gun last year and the fake grenade is treated the same way in the eyes of the NFL.
Jalen Ramsey’s controversial penalty late in the game was not fined. The refs gave him a low block penalty, but the league office did not seem to agree with the ruling on the field. He made an attempt to get around the block to make the tackle rather than going right at the knees of the lead blocker to break up the play.
Rules expert Gene Steratore explained the controversial penalty on the broadcast and came to the same conclusion that the league office seems to have come to.
All fines collected by the league are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to support safety and wellness of youth athletes.
