Pittsburgh Steelers starter fined for spitting at opponent

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of several teams with players getting fines for various infractions during last weekend’s slate of NFL games.

NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport reported that “Steelers Guard Trai Turner was fined $15,450 for unsportsmanlike conduct for spitting at an opponent in last week’s loss to the Raiders. Turner was ejected.”

A video of the incident is below.

Trai Turner was ejected after spitting on an opponent.pic.twitter.com/0Em3oyX2cE

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 19, 2021

It’s clear why the Pittsburgh Steelers big man was given the personal foul and ejected, but head coach Mike Tomlin said Turner was previously spit on by a Raiders’ defender and he retaliated.

Turner is ready to move forward from the situation as the Steelers prepare for a divisional test against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Really, with that situation, I’d really like to thank you to Coach T and thank you to my teammates just for having my back,” Turner said. “Everybody that saw the situation and was in the game knew what happened, knew what took place and why it went the way that it did.”

The Steelers’ offensive linemen continued.

“When you’re presented with circumstances that you’re not familiar with, sometimes you go into foreign territory and that’s kind of what happened,” Turner said.

The ultimate takeaway for Turner was the support he received from his teammates, coaches and everyone in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization.

“What transpired this past week showed me that I have more people that have my back than I thought,” he said.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB takes ownership for offensive woes

During his post-game press conference following Sunday’s loss, one reporter asked what he thought was contributing to Ben Roethlisberger’s poor play.

“I don’t know,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s frustrating because I put a lot of stinking time in. More than I probably ever have. And I’m not really sure I gotta get it figured out though because I’m frustrated that I am not playing well enough. 

“The good news is that it’s still early, you know, we got a long road ahead of us and we got a lot of time to get it fixed.”

Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense struggled against the Raiders. To illustrate, the veteran quarterback recorded 295 passing yards on 27 completions in 40 attempts, along with one touchdown and one interception. 

Moreover, his team could hardly string together much in the run game either. First-round draft pick out of Alabama, Najee Harris, did minimal damage on just ten carries for 38 yards. Meanwhile, backup running back Benny Snell Jr. had two rushes for one yard.

As for his receiving corps, Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool were Roethlisberger’s two most successful targets. Johnson tallied six receptions for 105 yards, while Claypool had three receptions for 70 yards. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to improve to (2-1) in Sunday’s divisional matchup vs. the Bengals.