Mike Mitchell Fine Concludes List of Infringements from Steelers-Bengals Game

The NFL typically discloses all of its player fines at a single point somewhere in the middle of the week. After last week’s scrappy affair between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals, the league office clearly needed a little more time to sort things out.

The latest – and hopefully last – man to receive a penalty was hard-hitting Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, who was docked $23 000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert; a shot that took Eifert out of the contest with a concussion and will keep him from suiting up this week as well.

Mitchell was one of six Steelers whose deep pockets felt the wrath of the NFL this week. Five of his teammates were each fined $8681 for various reasons ranging from vicious to harmless.

Offensive linemen David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert were each fined for personal fouls committed during the play, and were penalised for a facemask and unnecessary roughness call respectively.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown was also fined for a “crack back” block (blocking below the waist on a defender running in the opposite direction), which drew some post-play helmet slapping between himself and DB Dre Kirkpatrick.

Meanwhile, vilified Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict eclipsed every Pittsburgh player’s fine combined for his reckless play.

A facemask, unnecessary roughness and a roughing the passer call all contributed to Burfict’s fine of almost $70 000. Included in that hefty penalty was what appeared to be a deliberate dive towards Ben Roethlisberger’s legs, which was not penalised in-game.

Cincy wideout A.J. Green ended the proceedings with an $11 576 fine for punting the football into the stands after his exhilarating touchdown.

Perhaps the NFL felt they needed to balance the scales on this one, considering the Steelers received a personal foul for excessive showboating after William Gay’s pick-six, despite the no-call on Green’s punt halfway back to Pittsburgh.

The end result? Almost $150k in fines from one game, or, if you prefer, a very liveable salary for the average American family. In the event that these two meet again in the playoffs, the officials will need to keep a much shorter leash on both teams.