A breakdown of the fines assessed to players for infractions in Week 11.
There was no surprise on Saturday when the list of fines announced by the NFL had Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride at the top of the list.
In fairness, that had nothing to do with the amount of the fine or the infraction, but only because the list is in alphabetical order by team with Arizona first.
McBride was fined $14,491 for a so-called “violent gesture” when he was guilty of the banned nose-wipe with his right hand before pointing his arm and hand forward after a 28-yard pass play against the San Francisco 49ers. There was a penalty called on the play.
It is McBride’s second of the season, following a taunting fine of $11,593 in a Week 3 game that was also against the 49ers. There was no penalty called for that infraction.
Meanwhile, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Curtis Robinson was fined $6,500 for an uncalled hip-drop tackle of running back Bam Knight in the third quarter of the game.
Trailing 25-10 on the Cardinals’ opening possession of the second half, Knight gained 12 yards on a pass from quarterback Jacoby Brissett on second-and-15 from the Arizona 26-yard line. Had the penalty been flagged, the ball would have advanced to the 49ers’ 47-yard line.
Instead, the Cardinals gained two yards on third-and-3 and on fourth-and-1, Knight exploded for 60 yards and a touchdown that was negated by a holding penalty on tight end Pharaoh Brown, forcing a punt.
It surely isn’t a surprise there was no penalty called. Week 11 featured three other hip-drop tackle fines, but none were called on the field. That brings the total to 23 this season, all of which were not penalized.
Of the 23 fines in Week 11, there were also four for use of the helmet, another infraction that has been shown to be difficult to officiate. Only one was penalized. For the season, there have been 42 use-of-helmet fines with only five penalized.
The combined 68 fines for those two plays is 30.9 percent of the 220 fines. Of that total, 124 (56.4 percent) have not been penalized. The 60 fines for hip-drops and use of helmet where there was no penalty is 48.4 percent of the no-penalty total.
One of the use-of-helmet fines resulted in an injury. Seattle Seahawks linebacker Tyrice Knight suffered a concussion on a tackle he made on a kickoff in the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Rams. He has been declared out for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.
Aside from those eight penalties in Week 11, the others were facemasks, three; violent gestures, use of prop and unsportsmanlike conduct with no specific infraction, two; and hit on a quarterback, obscene gesture, defenseless player hit, late hit, striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing and low block, one.
The two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties listed only “other” as the infraction. One was by Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey on the play in which Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase responded by spitting on Ramsey and being suspended for this week’s game against the New England Patriots.
Chase is not included in the fine list although the suspension will cost him one weekly check of $448,333.
The other “other” occurred when Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who is on injured reserve, was fined $14,491 on a play in which the Seahawks had the ball. Watching the replay, on a run by Kenneth Walker III, Rams outside linebacker Byron Young pushed Walker just past the boundary line.
As Young walked down the sideline after the play, a player out of uniform that must have been Reed, went quickly toward Young and bumped him with his upper body. Young jawed at him and Reed jawed back as Rams defensive lineman Braden Fiske pulled Young away.
Two familiar names were also on the fine list again in Week 11: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens and Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch.
Fined $26,085 for use of a prop, that is the fifth fine this season for Pickens: two $14,491 fines for removal of his helmet and a violent gesture in Week 2 and fines of $11,593 and $17,380 for taunting in Week 7 and 9, respectively. Those total $84,049. Only the taunt in Week 9 and last week’s prop use were flagged on the field.
Branch, who was fined seven times in 2024, has now been fined three times and suspended one game for punching Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster following the Week 6 game between the teams. For that, he lost one weekly check for $76,625.
His other fines this season were $11,593 for a facemask in Week 1, $11,598 for a low block in Week 3 and $11,599 for use of the helmet in Week 11. All three of those resulted in penalties during the game.
Cowboys players have drawn a league-high 17 fines this season followed by the Washington Commanders with 12 and the Lions with 11.
The dollar total in fines for Week 11 is $296,389 for a season total of $2,920,123.
NFL fines in Week 11
(Yes or no indicates whether a penalty was called in the game)
- 49ers LB Curtis Robinson, hip-drop tackle ($6,500, no)
- Bills DE Jose Bosa, hit on QB in knee area or below ($17,389, yes)
- Bills RB Ty Johnson, obscene gestures ($10,777, no)
- Cardinals TE Trey McBride, violent gesture ($14,491, yes)
- Chargers LB Del’Shawn Phillips, facemask ($11,160, yes)
- Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown, late hit ($8,166, no)
- Cowboys WR George Pickens, use of prop ($26,085, yes)
- Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick, hip-drop tackle ($17,389, no)
- Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick, low block ($12,172, yes)
- Falcons WR Jamal Agnew, use of helmet ($14,056, no
- Falcons LB Arnold Ebiketie, hip-drop tackle ($15,589, no)
- Lions S Brian Branch, use of helmet ($11,599, yes)
- Lions WR Jameson Williams, use of prop ($14,491, yes)
- Packers DT Colby Wooden, facemask ($6,789, yes)
- Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan, violent gesture ($14,491, no)
- Panthers CB Corey Thornton, hit on defenseless player ($4,685, no)
- Patriots WR Mack Hollins, use of helmet ($20,278, no)
- Raiders DE Malcolm Koonce, striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing ($12,172, yes)
- Rams CB Cobie Durant, hip-drop tackle ($17,389, no)
- Seahawks LB Tyrice Knight, use of helmet ($6,406, no)
- Seahawks DT Jarran Reed, unsportsmanlike conduct/other ($14,491, no)
- Steelers CB Jalen Ramsey, unsportsmanlike conduct/other ($14,491, yes)
- Vikings DL Jalen Redmond, facemask ($$5,333, no)
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