NFL hits Steelers starter where it hurts on his week off following a controversial penalty in recent win against the Browns
Jaquan Brisker didn’t hold back after his hit on Deshaun Watson drew a flag. Now the NFL has handed down its punishment during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ bye week, and the number is a big one.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker wasn’t a fan of the roughing the passer call he received for his hit on quarterback Deshaun Watson. He liked it even less during the bye week, when he found out the NFL had pulled just under $18,000 from his bank account.
According to a post from NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the league fined Brisker $17,911 for the hit on Watson. That hit kept Watson out of Sunday’s game against the Saints, which his team lost. That outcome helped the Steelers’ cause while Pittsburgh sat at home.
The fine itself isn’t what makes this one stand out. Brisker’s postgame reaction does.
Jaquan Brisker held nothing back after the call
Brisker made it clear after the game that he thought the officials protected Watson far more than the play warranted. He also argued that the contact itself was clean.
“Babying the quarterback. He’s laying there crying or whatever he’s doing. It is what it is. I won’t assume I’m going to get fined because if you watch it, I hit him with my chest and then I’m going to the side, but he had his binky today, so they threw it out there,” Brisker said after the game, via a post from Alan Saunders on X.
I don’t know whether those comments helped or hurt his case. I would assume the NFL looked at all of it, including the hit, the replay, and the reaction, before deciding on the fine. Brisker can still appeal, and given how strongly he feels about the play, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him do it.
Why the fine isn’t a surprise
The truth is, neither the flag nor the fine should surprise anyone who has watched the NFL over the last several years. The league has gone out of its way to protect quarterbacks, and in its view, it has done a tremendous job. Plays like this one are exactly the reason the rules exist.
Brisker’s argument is that he led with his chest and tried to peel off to the side. To be fair to him, that is the technique defenders are coached to use when they close on a quarterback. However, the league doesn’t grade intent. It grades the result, and the result here was a quarterback on the ground who missed the following week.
That is the part Brisker can’t escape. Watson sat out the game against the Saints because of this hit, and that fact alone makes it hard for the league to look the other way. Whether the contact was borderline or not, a starting quarterback missing time is going to draw scrutiny from the league office.
It’s also why the “binky” comment probably didn’t do him any favors. Defenders around the league have voiced similar frustrations, but very few do it this bluntly while a fine is still pending.
Jaquan Brisker 2026 stats
8 games played
- 51 total tackles
- 3 pass breakups
- 1 interception
What it means for Brisker and the Steelers
For Pittsburgh, this is more of a footnote than a problem. Brisker isn’t suspended, the Steelers got an assist from the Saints while they were off, and the defense gets its starting safety back with fresh legs coming out of the bye.
For Brisker, it’s a costly reminder of where the league stands. It is extremely hard to tackle, to sack a quarterback, or to play defense in general in the NFL in 2026. Defenders are asked to make split-second decisions at full speed, and anything close to the line usually ends with a flag and a fine.
He can appeal, and he may even get some of that money back. But there’s not much Brisker or any other defender can do about the bigger picture. The rules aren’t changing, and the league has made it clear it’s going to keep enforcing them.
