The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing the heat in the AFC Playoffs. Fast, athletic and hard-hitting has been their mantra, and unfortunately it has led to some letters from the league office stating they owe the NFL some of their paycheck due to illegal hits.
In the Wild Card round it was Bud Dupree’s hit on Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore which was flagged and fined by the league. In the Divisional round it was Sean Davis’ hit on Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley which he stated he was fined over 24-thousand dollars for.
Sean Davis says he was fined $24k (and change) for his hit in Sunday's game. He will appeal it.
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 18, 2017
Davis said he plans on appealing the fine on the hit which happened in the fourth quarter of the game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Here's the hit from the #Steelers' Sean Davis on #Chiefs WR Chris Conley that drew a 15-yard penalty. #PITvsKC pic.twitter.com/1CDEriFpRm
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) January 16, 2017
The main talking point about the hit wasn’t if he hit him in the head, he clearly did, but just what the NFL expects defenders to do in that situation. If Davis doesn’t hit Conley, he likely scores an easy touchdown. However, the pass was away from Conley, forcing him to turn into contact, which meant any hit from Davis was likely going to be on a defenseless receiver.
These situations are the ones which put defenders in almost a lose-lose situation. Disrupt the play with a hit, get flagged and an envelope from the league office notifying you of a fine. Don’t disrupt the play, and you essentially give up a big play in a playoff game.
No one is disputing the flag or the hit, but essentially what Davis is supposed to do in the situation he found himself in on Sunday night.
Nonetheless, the sting of the fine won’t be quite as much considering the Steelers were able to escape the game victorious, thanks to Davis’ pass break up on the Chiefs’ second two-point conversion attempt, and are now preparing for the New England Patriots and the AFC Championship game.