Not only did the Baltimore Ravens come up two points short of ending the Buffalo Bills’ season and making it to their second straight AFC Championship Game Sunday in Kansas City, one of their star players was punished by the NFL for a play in that 27-25 defeat. With 20 seconds left in the second quarter, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey came up to help safety Kyle Hamilton bring down Bills quarterback Josh Allen on a quarterback scramble. As he approached Allen, Humphrey lowered his head and hit Allen with a stiff helmet-to-helmet shot that was highly debated by the broadcast crew. Though no flag was thrown on the play, Humphrey’s actions didn’t go unpunished as the NFL fined the Pro Bowl CB a hefty $45,020 for unnecessary roughness, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The massive sum of Humphrey’s fine underscores the importance the league has placed on protecting quarterbacks from unnecessary damage.
Allen didn’t seem to show any ill effects from the brutal hit to the head, and he even punched in a 4-yard touchdown on the very next play. The MVP front-runner finished with 127 yards passing, 20 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns. Humphrey didn’t see much action in coverage. He was targeted twice, allowing a reception each time – one to running back James Cook and the other to receiver Khalil Shakir – for 20 total yards and a first down, per Pro Football Focus. He finished with four tackles and a 108.3 passer rating against.
