Steelers left wondering about flags that are thrown and not thrown and fines that come either way
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, center, is helped after getting shaken up against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) gets past Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams (31) after a catch during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023, in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren, runs in for a touchdown as Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant watches during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif.
On a weekend where Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Tyrod Taylor and Kenny Pickett joined the growing list of injured quarterbacks, Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson went off on referee Alan Eck无毛视频檚 crew for not flagging Jacksonville无毛视频檚 Adam Gotsis for the hit that sent Pickett from the game with bruised ribs.
无毛视频淵无毛视频檃ll are supposed to be protecting us,无毛视频� Johnson fumed following the Steelers无毛视频� 20-10 loss to the Jaguars that was peppered with unusual calls and curious non-calls alike. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 our quarterback. He got slammed.无毛视频�
Johnson accused the officials of tilting the game in Jacksonville无毛视频檚 favor and suggested they 无毛视频渟hould get fined for making terrible calls.无毛视频� He even hinted the crew 无毛视频渕ust无毛视频檝e got paid good today or something. They wanted them to win. Everything was in their favor.无毛视频�
Johnson considered Gotsis无毛视频� slam of Pickett much worse than the hit Pittsburgh无毛视频檚 Keanu Neal put on Trevor Lawrence that drew a roughing the passer penalty earlier in the game, and the Steelers also took issue with a rare offsides call on a guard in field-goal protection that wiped three points from the board.
无毛视频淚 hadn无毛视频檛 seen that called in 17 years of standing on the sidelines,无毛视频� Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of the flag on veteran right guard Isaac Seumalo that negated Chris Boswell无毛视频檚 55-yard field goal.
Boswell missed from 61 yards after the penalty was marked off, leaving the Steelers trailing 9-3 at halftime.
无毛视频淚 thought I lined up in the same spot I无毛视频檝e been lining up for the past eight years,无毛视频� Seumalo said.
无毛视频淗is head was over the back edge of the ball, so by rule that无毛视频檚 an offensive offside foul,无毛视频� Eck explained.
This all came 24 hours after the NFL announced it had again fined Steelers second-year undrafted running back Jaylen Warren for lowering his head when contacting an opponent.
Both fines were for a whopping $48,556 无毛视频� which is $223 more than Warren无毛视频檚 weekly salary before taxes 无毛视频� and both fines were for infractions that the officials on the field didn无毛视频檛 deem worthy of a penalty flag.
Warren was fined this time for lowering his helmet in Week 6 while picking up the blitz on Rams pass rusher Michael Hoecht, who, at 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, is eight inches taller and 94 pounds heavier than Warren.
Warren ran afoul of the league无毛视频檚 rules by initiating contact with the crown of his helmet, but it wasn无毛视频檛 particularly egregious and Hoecht wasn无毛视频檛 hurt on the play.
无毛视频淲e will appeal as usual,无毛视频� said Warren无毛视频檚 agent, David Canter, who called the latest fine 无毛视频渦tterly ridiculous and overzealous,无毛视频� arguing that Warren 无毛视频渋s just playing the game the way it无毛视频檚 coached.无毛视频�
Warren was fined a month earlier for another hit that wasn无毛视频檛 flagged when he lowered his helmet just as Cleveland Browns safety Juan Thornhill was about to force him out of bounds after a long catch-and-run in Week 2.
That infraction wasn无毛视频檛 as blatant as others that have drawn much smaller fines from the NFL this season.
After that fine, Warren joked about playing for the love of the game because the league was basically taking away his paycheck for that game.
Of the 205 fines issued by the league so far for safety-related and unsportsmanlike rules violations, only two fines have been heftier than Warren无毛视频檚: Texans linebacker Denzel Perryman was dinged $66,666 and Falcons fullback Keith Smith got hit for $87,418, both for unnecessary roughness infractions.
Warren has been fined nearly $97,000 for a pair of plays that looked to many observers 无毛视频� most notably the officials on the field 无毛视频� like ordinary football plays.
So, the Steelers were left wondering about the flags that were thrown, the flags that weren无毛视频檛 thrown and the fines the league might levy either way.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
It无毛视频檚 not often you hear backtracking by one of the networks无毛视频� rules analysts, who are invariably former NFL officials. But that无毛视频檚 exactly what CBS无毛视频檚 Gene Steratore did last week after saying Green Bay receiver Romeo Doubs无毛视频� touchdown should have been ruled an interception by Patrick Surtain II in Denver无毛视频檚 19-17 win over the Packers in Week 7.
无毛视频淣o matter what you do, owning up and taking accountability is how you get better. My interpretation of the play in #GBvsDEN was incorrect. I overthought it and just missed it,无毛视频� Steratore wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Both Doubs and Surtain had their hands on the football as they tumbled the ground in the third quarter that afternoon. The officials ruled a touchdown and on the broadcast, Steratore said he believed it should have been ruled an interception instead because Surtain had two feet down before Doubs did.
The NFL vehemently disagreed with Steratore无毛视频檚 contention and a day later Steratore owned up to his goof-up.
无毛视频淎s a ref (whether grade school or pro), you learn the most from the 5% of calls that you miss,无毛视频� he wrote on X.