When Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson was flagged for roughing the passer for a hit on Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer on Sunday, he called it “B.S.”
Unsurprisingly, the league office saw it the same way as the referee.
The NFL fined Johnson $18,231 for the hit, which means that upon review, the NFL thought the penalty was proper and the hit was not.
“I thought it was B.S., man,” Johnson said. “It was a clean hit. I caught him in mid-throw. I hit him in the chest, not in the head, so it was inside the rules. That’s a clean hit.”
As is so often the case, the NFL and a player disagree on what constitutes a clean hit.