2023 NFL Week Three Fine Blotter

Thirty-four fines on the blotter this week, in the NFL announcement:

• Atlanta
• Kaden Elliss, $16,391, unflagged illegal hit.
• Keith Smith, $87,418, leading with the helmet on a kickoff return.

In fact, let's stop with the sugar-coating.  #40 is Smith, and that is ejection-level SPEARING.

Falcons FB Keith Smith (No. 40) was fined $87,418 for unnecessary roughness on this play.

Nearly $90,000 🤯
pic.twitter.com/VIOPtcG1FX

— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) September 30, 2023

• Chicago
• Jaquan Brisker, $9,287 for a face mask.
• Tyrique Stevenson, $6,515 for a late hit.
• Cincinnati
• Cam Taylor-Britt, $7,516, bit of a marginal defenseless receiver one here.  Receiver was juggling the ball and was certainly probably still defenseless when he got hit, but...
• Dallas
• Chuma Edoga, $6,847 for hitting the player in the face on a false start.  He was only flagged the five yards.
  
• Johnathan Hankins, $7,319 for a face mask.
• Denver
• Kareem Jackson, $11,473 for an uncalled low block.  That's three for three!!  Three games, THREE-TIME LOSER.
  
• Drew Sanders, $5,793, unnecessary roughness
  
• Patrick Surtain, $11,473 -- league didn't say what and I couldn't find it.
• Detroit
• Alex Anzalone, $13,922 for a forearm to the head.
  
• And Brian Branch had two, both $8,103 for $16,204 total.  One was a horse-collar tackle, the other another blow to the head.
• Green Bay
• Rasul Douglas, $11,473, making him a TWO-TIME LOSER for unnecessary roughness
  
• Ben Sims, $4,167 for involvement in an altercation.
  
• And if you need more evidence the game was fucked, the throw-down no-call RTP which took the New Orleans QB out was not only unflagged, it was unfined.  
• Houston
• Jonathan Greenard, $7,604 for unnecessary roughness.
• Indianapolis
• Kwity Paye (a candidate for Name Hall of Fame), $10,927 for the uncalled face mask which was part of the refball which gave Indianapolis the win.
• Los Angeles Chargers
• Raheem Layne, $4,870 for one of the least expensive defenseless receiver hits (which was flagged).
• Las Vegas
• Maxx Crosby, $10,927 for removal from the pile.
• Miami
• Raheem Mostert, $10,927 for ripping off the helmet of an opposing player.  The "blind" fucks didn't call the penalty.
• Minnesota
• Harrison Smith, $21.854 for using the helmet on a tackle.
• New England
• Jabril Peppers, got a big one:  $43,709, yet another completely intentional ejection helmet hit which is (similarly intentionally) NOT CALLED.
  
• Juju Smith-Schuster, $16,391 for a blindside block.
• New Orleans
• Tony Jones, $5,222 for a post-play altercation.
• New York Giants
• A'Shawn Robinson, $11,473 for the altercation for which it appears 49ers' Trent Williams punched him in return.
  
• Jihad Ward, $8,139
• Leonard Williams, $16,391 for roughing the passer.
• San Francisco
• Trent Williams, $11,473 for the aforementioned ejection offense.
• Pittsburgh
• Kwon Alexander:  Another big one for the Steelers:  $43,709
• That is not only TWO-TIME LOSER for Alexander, that's back to back weeks for $43,709!!!
• He's lost his last two game checks.
• This is the hit.

This is the play that caused Kwon Alexander to be fined $43,709 pic.twitter.com/eh9AhMlSjB

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) September 30, 2023

• That's gonna get appealed down.  (Watch the third angle at :30, Alexander is #54.)  It's a late hit -- there might be helmet involved, but that's because the player was being tackled.  That will be brought back.  It'll be listed for now because the NFL listed it, but that one's coming back.)
  
• Miles Killebrew:  $13,792, and that's for the helmet hit -- and it should've been ejectable.
• Switch the two fines.  Alexander can get 14K for the late hit, Killebrew gets the 44K for the helmet foul.
  
• That puts Pittsburgh's total for three weeks is $223,289.
  
•  Seattle
• DK Metcalf becomes a FOUR-TIME LOSER in three weeks!!  Another $16,391.  Blindside block plus aggravating.
• Julian Love, $21,833 for roughing the passer.
• Teez Tabor, $6,000 for unnecessary roughness.
• Tennessee
• Arden Key, $43,710 for roughing the passer.

So, some statistics.

• Only one player was fined twice, so 33 players this week, from 20 different teams.
•  87 players have been fined this season.
  
• Total fines for the week, another over half-mil:  $535,501.
• Total for the year, $1,433,806.
• Absolute leader in the clubhouse is the Pittsburgh Steelers, with $223,289 in fines.  Nine fines this year, FIVE OF THEM helmet fouls.
• To give reference, the only other team in six figures is Atlanta, and they got all theirs this week!
  
• Number of non-called fined ejections:  5.
• Smith (ATL) for Spearing.
• Peppers (NE) and
• Killebrew (PIT -- they got the PIT fines reversed) for lowering the helmet to initiate
• Williams (SF) for a punch.
• Key (TEN) for flagrant RTP, shot to the throat, Intent To Injure.
• Season total is now 13, nine of which are helmet fouls.  One is referee abuse, one is a punch, one is intent to injure RTP, one is a cheapshot.
• The Fineable Refball Index is now at two.  You get on the FRI for any game for which a missed call is directly responsible for changing the outcome of the game, and the missed call is correctly fined afterward.
• The facemask not called against Indianapolis joins the 9/11 Trip in New York.
  
• Only three teams have not been fined through the first three weeks:   The Jacksonville Jaguars, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Carolina Panthers.
• And, once again, over half the fined fouls went unflagged:  18 out of 34.
• That is 51 out of the 101 fined fouls not flagged.
• Biggest offender, uncalled helmet fouls, see above.