Alex Anzalone was the lone culprit from the Detroit Lions to receive a fine from the NFL for his action during their Week 14 home game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The league announced on Saturday that it fined Anzalone $17,968 for unnecessary roughness with the description of “striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing” (a broad safety rule covering any blow delivered with a limb). The infraction took place with 6:28 left in the second quarter, as the Lions held a 10-6 lead.
On 3rd-and-21, Dak Prescott dumped a short pass to Jake Ferguson, who gained four yards before Amik Robertson and Jack Campbell chopped him down.
While Ferguson was still on his feet, Campbell punched the ball out of his hands, allowing safety Brian Branch to recover it at the 50-yard line.
After Branch recovered the ball and Lions players began to celebrate on the field, Anzalone ran to join in, and as he threw his arms in the air, his right arm struck the back of Cowboys rookie offensive guard Tyler Booker.
Game officials did not assess a penalty on the play, but the video shows Booker appearing to seek a flag for the contact.
According to Spotrac, this marks the sixth time the NFL has penalized Anzalone and the second of this season. During a Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the league fined Anzalone $12,172 for fighting. In his career, the veteran linebacker has now accumulated $93,190 in fines.
During the 44-30 win over the Cowboys, Anzalone finished with seven tackles, including four solo.
Although Anzalone was the only Lions player to pick up a fine in the game, he wasn’t the only player affected by the league’s sanctions.
Cowboys receiver George Pickens and running back Hunter Luepke also received fines. Luepke’s fine came right at the start of the game, an $8,537 fine for unnecessary roughness for “use of helmet” during the kickoff. Pickens also picked up an unnecessary roughness fine of $11,593 for a facemask with 1:25 remaining before halftime.
Additionally, Cowboys defensive end James Houston, whom the Lions drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft, was fined $5,722 for a hit on Lions quarterback Jared Goff, deemed a blow to the head/neck region, with 8:26 left in the game.
