The Steelers' lone victory of this season came at a cost for Darrius Heyward-Bey, Sean Davis and Jon Bostic.
The NFL levied fines against all three players for their actions in the Steelers' 30-27 win over the Buccaneers in Tampa on Sept. 24.
Heyward-Bey was docked $26,739 for unsportsmanlike conduct after verbally abusing an official with 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. The 10-year veteran had been whistled for an illegal formation on a Jordan Berry punt that negated what would have been a 35-yard kick to the Tampa Bay 1-yard line. It was the first time that Heyward-Bey, whose salary has a cap hit of $1.2 million for this season, has been assessed a 15-yard penalty in his career
Davis was fined $20,054 for roughing the passer after driving Ryan Fitzpatrick to the ground on a safety blitz with 2:45 left in the first half. It was Davis' second personal foul of the quarter and the sixth of his three-year career. With 10:27 left in the second quarter, he was also flagged for unnecessary roughness. After Mike Evans pulled in a 27-yard pass from Fitzpatrick, Davis shoved the Tampa Bay tight end while out of bounds.
Bostic was fined $10,026 for his roughing the passer penalty on Fitzpatrick with 5:46 left in the first quarter. It was the second personal foul of his five-year career. Last season, Bostic was fined $18,231 for a horse collar tackle while playing for the Colts against the Jaguars.
In all, the Steelers and Buccaneers combined for four roughing the passer penalties, though Tampa Bay's Gerald McCoy and Jason Pierre-Paul were not fined for their infractions.
The NFL competition committee, of which Mike Tomlin is a member, held a conference call last week to clarify the league's point of emphasis on roughing the passer and the "body weight rule" after 34 flags were thrown in Weeks 1-3. Tomlin called his team's win in Tampa "hard to watch" from a fan's entertainment viewpoint.
Apparently the call had the desired effect, as there were five roughing the passer penalties called league-wide in Week 4.
After taking another five penalties for 40 yards in Sunday night's loss to the Ravens, the Steelers remain the NFL's most penalized team. They have 42 penalties accepted for 402 yards. The Jaguars are a distant second with 35 for 354 yards.
