NFL elects to not fine Myles Jack and George Pickens for hits against Bengals

NFL rivalry games are often filled with heated moments. And when the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, there were a few of those moments the Bengals took exception to. Two of those were the product of the actions of Pittsburgh Steelers players Myles Jack and rookie George Pickens. Despite the two individuals’ actions, the NFL has elected not to tack on additional penalties in the form of fines, according to Bengals beat writer for the Athletic Jay Morrison.

“Steelers LB Myles Jack was not fined for his hit on a sliding Joe Burrow,” wrote Morrison via Twitter. “Steelers WR George Pickens was not fined for his hit on Tyler Boyd that got him ejected.”

Although the hit on Burrow sliding is something the NFL is working on getting rid of, Jack was not flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty on the play. So the league’s decision not to fight him for it aligns with the decision made by the officials on the field. On the other hand, Pickens hit on Boyd did result in him being ejected from the game. The hit for many watching could hardly be considered vicious. Unfortunately, the rookie led with his head when Boyd was down on the ground to down him. After the NFL took much of the week to review and make the decision, that, too, was deemed unworthy of a financial penalty.

Whenever the Steelers and Bengals play, hard hits and physical play are usually a part of the game plan. And while these two plays might be things the NFL is cracking down on, they do not feel as if these hits met the requirement for further discipline, which bodes well for both Jack and Pickens.

The Steelers and Bengals split this year’s series 1-1. But given all of the talk surrounding these two incidents, except for some of the energy from this game to carry over into next year’s meetings between the two teams. And even if these plays didn’t happen, Pittsburgh is still likely to bring the wood next season will they take on Cincinnati. This just helps to put a little extra fuel on the fire.

Bengals Chase calls out officiating following hits by Pickens and Jack

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase may not be active this week for his team, but he was active on Twitter during the Bengals’ divisional matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Chase is missing his third straight game following a hip injury that’s supposed to sideline him for four to six weeks, but when he was playing this season, he did not feel he was getting some of the same treatment that the wide receivers in today’s game are receiving, which he vocalized in the tweet.