The misconduct of Lions center Dominic Raiola wasn’t limited to a dive at the knees of New England defensive lineman Zach Moore. Earlier in the game, Raiola also delivered a blow to the back of Moore’s head.
While it’s unclear whether the league office will discipline Raiola for diving at Moore’s knees on a play that entailed Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford taking a knee, the punch to Moore’s head is more likely to result in a fine.
Last year, the league office initially missed a similar move by Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Because the video of the blow to the head of former Cardinals tackle Eric Winston didn’t emerge until after the next game was played by Detroit, the incident did not result in a suspension for Suh, whose history possibly would have provoked another temporary banishment. In the end, Suh wasn’t even fined -- possibly to avoid questions as to why he wasn’t suspended and then questions as to why the blow to the head wasn’t seen soon enough to suspend Suh for the team’s next game.
For Raiola, the combination of the blow to the head and the dive at the knees could potentially trigger a one-game suspension. At a minimum, it should result in a major fine.