An egregious facemask penalty in Week 10 earned Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Arthur Moats an $8,681 fine on Friday, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Arthur Moats fined $8,681 for nearly ripping Johnny Manziel’s head off
A rough facemask penalty against Johnny Manziel earned Arthur Moats a hefty fine.
Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
Moats, 27, grabbed the facemask of Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel and turned his helmet all the way around as he swung the passer down. It quickly drew a flag and the outside linebacker likely won't have any qualms with paying the fine.
After the game, Moats told Matt Gajtka of DKonPittsburghSports.com that he and his teammates were trying to guess how much the fine would be.
“We’re taking bets. I say 30 (thousand), just to throw a high number out. I figure if I aim high, anything less is going to make me feel better.”
“I didn’t think it was going to look like that,” he said. “When I saw it after the game I was like, ‘That’s pretty bad.’ I’m glad he’s not hurting. ... I think I saw a still shot of his helmet facing his name(plate). He didn’t say anything on the field and I reached out to him on social media. From that standpoint, everything’s good.”
The second-quarter penalty gifted the Browns field position in Pittsburgh territory, although a sack of Manziel a few plays later forced a punt.
Moats and Manziel were able to put the incident behind them on Twitter:
@JManziel2 Mybad on the facemask bro. No hard feelings
— Arthur Moats (@dabody52) November 15, 2015 No hard feelings man just part of the game https://t.co/tlOeLz34Fp
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) November 16, 2015 Manziel finished the game 33-of-45 passing for 372 yards with one touchdown and one interception, which was enough to earn him the starting job moving forward. For Moats, the penalty nullified what would have been his third sack of the season.
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