Buffalo Bills edge-rusher Joey Bosa only has one gear, and it’s full-speed.
Most of the time, that’s an excellent tool on the tool belt for Bosa to use against opposing offensive lineman. However, during Buffalo’s 44-32 Week 11 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it ended up costing Bosa big time.
Bosa had a solid game against the Buccaneers, logging one tackle, two pressures, two hurries, and one run stop on 44 defensive snaps played, according to Pro Football Focus, but he also had one questionable hit that ended up catching the attention of the NFL league office.
Bosa Hit With Major Fine for Baker Mayfield Hit
GettyBuffalo Bills DE Joey Bosa was fined for diving at the knees of Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter with the Bucs trailing 44-32 and driving down the field, Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich turned up the pressure on quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The 30-year-old Mayfield, who’s an MVP candidate, was fresh off a 273-yard, 3-touchdown performance the week before against the New England Patriots.
He had been playing as well as any QB in the league, and given the chance, Mayfield could have led a quick-strike scoring drive and made the final minutes a little more interesting.
On a second-and-10 play, Mayfield took a shotgun snap, and almost simultaneously as he fired off a pass, Bosa dove in his direction trying to break up the pass.
Unfortunately for the $12 million defensive end, the ball had already left Mayfield’s had, and Bosa landed square at his legs, and the refs flagged him 15 yards for roughing the passer.
While Mayfield wasn’t hurt and the penalty didn’t factor into the final outcome of the game, Bosa was fined $17,389 for a hit on the quarterback (contact to the knee area or below of a passer).
Bosa has been a massive addition to the Bills defense after signing during free agency over the summer. He currently leads the team with 39 pressures, 24 hurries, 11 QB hits, 7 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and a 15.8% pass-rush win-rate, per PFF.
Bosa Wasn’t the Only Bills Player Fined
In addition to Bosa’s fine, teammate Ty Johnson was hit by the NFL with a $10,777 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct (obscene gesture) for a wildly animated touchdown celebration.
After racing 52 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, Johnson grabbed his right hamstring and feigned an injury before falling to the turf while hip-thrusting and banging his hand on the ground.
As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero pointed out, Johnson was fined $5,388.50 per thrust.
The obscene gesture celebrations started drawing massive amounts of attention a few weeks ago when Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle was fined for thrusting after he scored a touchdown too.
His celebration was a tip of the cap to a Key & Peele skit, and Dowdle claimed after he didn’t think he would be fined because he only thrusted twice, to which he found out he was sorely mistaken.
Johnson finished the game with one carry for 9 yards and 2 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
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