NFL Issues Stiff Penalty for Jets Player After Highly Debated Browns Game Incident!
Before running into the streaking New England Patriots on Thursday, the New York Jets looked like they were undergoing a renaissance of sorts. After losing their first seven games in a row — albeit five of them by a touchdown or less — the Jets suddenly found themselves on a mini-streak of two straight wins, sandwiched around a bye week.
The second of those wins, at home over the Cleveland Browns in Week 10, was not a pretty affair. The Jets scored 10 fourth-quarter points while holding Cleveland to just three, hanging on for a 27-20 victory. The game was marred by a total of 18 penalties, though one was declined. Seven of the accepted flags came against New York, costing the home team 61 yards.
But the officials also missed some rules violations, at least according to the NFL Operations Office which independently reviews every play from every game in search of infractions that may merit league discipline. The biggest miss, judging by the league office response, came against Jets five-year veteran cornerback Brandon Stephens.
24 Fines Handed Down From Week 10
After getting nothing out of a four-play opening drive, the Browns got the ball back on a Jets punt and marched 95-yards down the field for the game’s first touchdown. On the second play of the nine-play drive, Browns quarterback connected with 2024 Pro Bowl wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on a five-yard pass.
Stephens made the tackle, but according to the league office, illegally used his helmet to bring Jeudy down. The officials on the field either did not see the alleged violation, or they did not deem it worthy of a penalty call. But the Operations Office certainly did, slapping Stephens with the second-largest fine handed down to any NFL player in Week 10.
On Saturday, the league announced that it was doling out 24 fines to 23 different players on 15 teams for various violations stemming from Week 10 games.
2nd-Biggest Fine of Week
Of those, there was only one financial assessment heftier than the $22,388 handed down to Stephens. That went to the Washington Commanders‘ Javon Kinlaw who was touched up for $28,555, for what the NFL said was “contact with an official.”
Stephens could have been fined an even larger sum. Under the NFL collective bargaining agreement, the designated fine for use of the helmet is set at $23,186 for a first offense. But the league office apparently exercised its discretionary authority to shave a little less than $1,000 off the amount of Stephens’ fine.
Stephens has committed only two previous penalties this season, and more to the point, he has incurred only one previous fine. That came in 2023 when Stephens was a member of the Baltimore Ravens — the team that made him a third-round draft pick in 2021 — when he was assessed $7,251 for a hit on a defenseless receiver.
Stephens in First Year With Jets
Later in the Week 10 game, Jeudy made Stephens pay after all, beating the cornerback for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
After his four-year rookie contract with Baltimore expired, Stephens signed with the Jets in March as a free agent, inking a three-year, $36 million deal. But so far his performance has been mixed at best. Though Stephens has started all 10 games for New York, he has yet to pull down an interception, and has made 52 tackles, 36 of them solo.
Joe Burrow Made Big Decision in First Media Session After Returning to Bengals Practice
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could've thrown his teammates under the bus on Monday. He could've blamed the defense for struggling over the past five games and quickly becoming the worse defensive unit in the NFL. He could've called out the front office, teammates, coaches or all of the above.
Instead, he took the high road with hopes that they can make a run in the final two months of the season.
"I think there's a lot of football left to be played, so there's a lot of blame to go around here, but there's ample opportunity to turn that around," Burrow said. "For half of this season, I thought the defense was playing pretty good, and then, the last couple weeks we've struggled, but there's good stuff on tape still, and they put that on tape, you saw it early in the year, so you've just got to get back to playing complimentary defense and getting pressure and covering and putting guys in good spots. I think there's plenty of opportunity, and we have all the talent in our locker room to make those changes."
The Bengals are giving up 426.6 yards-per-game, which is the most in the NFL. They're giving up 166.6 rushing yards-per-game, which is also the most allowed in the league. They're the only team that has given up 300 points so far this season, allowing 33.3 points-per-game, which is the most in the NFL.
Despite the struggles, Burrow says he's seen some good things from Al Golden's defense.
"Early in the year the offense wasn't rolling and I thought the defense was playing pretty well. And then lately, it seems like that's flip-flopped," Burrow said. "But there's still guys doing good things, putting good stuff on tape. It just feels like we haven't really put it all together. When you struggle that way, there's always guys doing good things, but the good things don't coincide with other people doing good things. So on offense, maybe you're receivers are winning but your o-line didn't hold up. Maybe your o-line held up this time and your receivers didn't win. On defense, guys covered well but you didn't get any pressure or you got pressure but guys got open quickly. So when you're struggling on offense or defense, the NFL has a lot of good players, guys putting good stuff on tape. It just feels like we haven't really put it all together."
There isn't much room for error for the Bengals moving forward. They're 3-6 on the season. A win over Pittsburgh on Sunday would get them to 3-0 in the division and keep their slim chances of winning the AFC North alive.
