The trio of Detroit Lions who committed stupid after-the-play personal fouls on Sunday night all cost their teams 15 yards during the game, but they’ve received very different reactions from the league office.
Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew got by far the biggest fine of the bunch, having his paycheck docked by $25,000 for violating league rules prohibiting abusive conduct toward game officials. Pettigrew was going after Saints safety Roman Harper -- not the official -- on the play in question, but in his attempt to get after Harper he accidentally bumped the official who was getting between them, and that’s always a major no-no as far as the league office is concerned.
Lions return man Stefan Logan was fined $7,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct, because, the NFL said, “He unnecessarily flipped the ball to an opponent.”
Surprisingly, Lions receiver Titus Young was not fined for hitting Saints defensive back Malcolm Jenkins in the face. It’s hard to understand why flipping the ball at an opponent would result in a fine and hitting an opponent in the face wouldn’t, but then again NFL fines are often hard to understand.