The NFL has handed down a punishment to the Minnesota Vikings defender involved in the controversial no-call against the Chicago Bears in Week 11.
The NFL issued a $5,333 fine to Vikings defensive tackle Jalen Redmond for an uncalled facemask penalty that he committed in the 19-17 loss to the Bears in Week 11, according to November 22’s update to the league’s “Gameday Accountability” report.
Redmond had gotten away with a blatant facemask penalty — in front of an official, no less — on Bears running back Travis Homer during his third-down run early in the third quarter, slowing him as other Vikings swarmed to take him down for a 2-yard loss.
The replay on the TV broadcast showed an obvious penalty, but the Bears were helpless to do anything about it, as a facemask is still a judgment call and not a reviewable play.
While the Bears won the game and, therefore, had little reason to dwell on the no-call, they likely appreciate validation from the NFL that the official made the wrong call.
Why Did Bears Try to Run With Travis Homer at All?
Redmond will now pay a modest fine for his illegal role in disrupting Homer’s only rushing play against the Vikings, but how the official missed the call while seemingly staring right at Homer is not the only lingering question about that third-down play.
There is also the bigger mystery: Why did the Bears run with Homer in the first place?
Homer is a core special teams player who had carried the ball just six times for 23 yards in 30 previous games for the Bears before they trusted him on 3rd-and-5 last weekend. While Redmond’s uncalled facemask clearly impeded his run out of shotgun formation, though, he also didn’t seem to have the quickness to turn the corner for a first down.
Even if he had, what was the point in dragging out the third-string running back when veteran D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai have been running so well recently?
Perhaps it was simply an instance of head coach Ben Johnson letting his play-calling ingenuity get the better of him.
Bears Down 2 Running Backs vs. Steelers in Week 12
For what it is worth, Homer won’t be getting any runs against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Bears officially ruled out Homer with hamstring and knee injuries in their final injury report for Week 12’s matchup with the Steelers. They also won’t have running back Roschon Johnson available after placing him on injured reserve on November 22.
To account for the loss of depth, the Bears elevated running back Brittain Brown from the practice squad to the game-day roster against the Steelers. He rushed five times for 37 yards and scored his first career NFL touchdown (a 22-yard run) when the Bears last elevated him in Week 9, but they also did not have Swift available in that game.
More likely than not, Brown will spend most of his time on special teams against the Steelers, so long as both Swift and Monangai remain healthy throughout the game.
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