There were some raised eyebrows in the Arizona Cardinals' 45-21 loss to the Detroit Lions last Sunday when linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. was flagged for unnecessary roughness in the second quarter after Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed a 12-yard pass to tight end Sam LaPorta on fourth-and-3 from the Cardinals' 47-yard line.
The penalty moved the ball to the 20-yard line and three plays later, the Lions scored their first touchdown to tie the game, 7-7.
Replays showed the penalty was questionable at best and the Fox announcers agreed, noting they didn’t believe there should have been a flag.
Fast forward to Saturday when the league revealed 23 fines to 22 players. Wilson was not fined.
The NFL has numerous plays each week where players are fined
when there was no penalty flagged on the field. However, rarely is a penalty for unnecessary roughness called on the field and a fine is not assessed.
That was the case this time, with the obvious conclusion that the Wilson hit should not have penalized. Little good that does the Cardinals now.
Two other plays in the game resulted in fines when there was no flag on the play.
Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins was docked $20,411 for the use of his helmet on a catch he made in the third quarter for 13 yards on second-and-3 from the Lions 38-yard line. Detroit linebacker Jack Campbell was credited for the tackle on the play.
In the second quarter, on an eight-yard sack by Lions defensive end D.J. Wonnum of quarterback Jacoby Brissett, Wonnum was fined $12,611 for a hip-drop tackle.
Officials often have difficulty recognizing those infractions on the field. The fines occur after extensive tape review. Notably, during the first five weeks of the season, there have been eight fines handed out for hip-drop tackles and none have been penalized on the field.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: One Cardinals player fined for non-call, another not fined for penalty
