The Detroit Lions received 4 fines for the game vs. the Cardinals, including one puzzling decision.
The NFL seemingly made an absolutely puzzling decision this week in regard to a play from the Detroit Lions’ Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals. Lions safety Brian Branch was fined $10,128 for helmet-to-helmet contact on tight end Trey McBride, while McBride—who arguably initiated the contact—was not punished for the infraction.
Neither player was flagged for the collision, but a replay of the hit clearly shows that both players lowered their helmets in preparation for contact, and both players contacted the other with the helmet.
The NFL fined #Lions S Brian Branch $10,128 for unnecessary roughness/use of helmet last week on the play that put Branch and #Cardinals TE Trey McBride in concussion protocol.
Branch was fined another $10,128 for a separate incident in the game. pic.twitter.com/YZhcB0HkJM
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 28, 2024
The NFL rulebook does not differentiate between rules for the offense and defense when it comes to improper use of the helmet. In other words, both sides of the ball are held to the same set of standards. Here’s how it reads directly in the 2024 NFL handbook.
ARTICLE 10. IMPERMISSIBLE USE OF THE HELMET. It is a foul if a player:
(a) lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent; or
(b) uses any part of his helmet or facemask to butt or make forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck area. These provisions do not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or the helmet in the course of a conventional tackle or block on an opponent.
I don’t see any interpretation of those rules that makes Branch guilty of an infraction whereas McBride is not. It certainly seems like both players are guilty here.
Both players suffered concussions due to the collision. Branch cleared protocol and is expected to play this week against the Seattle Seahawks. McBride, however, has been declared out for the Cardinals’ Week 4 game against the Commanders.
The NFL fined the Lions three additional times in Week 3. Branch received another $10,128 fine for an unnecessary roughness infraction—replay shows him slapping an opponent after the field goal that ended the first half. Kerby Joseph received a $7,505 fine for a hit on a defenseless player that was not flagged during the game, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin was fined $11,255 for a late hit.
