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In today’s NFL, there are plenty of questionable calls on the football field. You see awful defensive pass interference calls in almost every game, odd holding penalties and of course the often discussed roughing the passer penalties.
Usually in the NFL, when a player is given a personal foul of some kind, they are also met with a fine of some sort. If not fine follows, it is usually the NFL’s way of saying they missed the call on the field.
So, when this happened on Sunday in the Steelers vs. Falcons game, and a flag was thrown for roughing the passer, most assumed T.J. Watt would be getting an “our bad” vibe from the league office by not getting fined.
WARNING: Gruesome roughing the passer tackle by T.J Watt pic.twitter.com/qGnN2cIEGs
— 360°FantasyFootball (@360FFB) October 7, 2018
Think again. Yes, Watt was reportedly fined for the above hit, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NFL fined its co-sack leader, TJ Watt, $20,054 for “forcibly hitting in the knee area or below” Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan, per source. The league office instructed the Steelers to deduct the money from Watt’s paycheck if he does not appeal.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2018
In a game where fans, players and coaches are talking about the horrible penalties occurring on a weekly basis, the league doing something like this is only going to compound the frustration with the game, the officials and those enforcing said rules.
Either way, Watt would be smart to appeal the fine, considering he tried to move out of Ryan’s way, but was unable to avoid “forcibly hitting the knee area” of the quarterback.
What a joke.