The NFL has come down on New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith.
As expected, Smith was indeed docked over his unsportsmanlike infraction committed against the Green Bay Packers after he taunted Lukas Van Ness in the third quarter in Week 2.
Per the NFL, Smith received an $11,491 fine for “unsportsmanlike conduct” and, specifically, “taunting” over his actions after finding Garrett Wilson for a touchdown in the Jets’ eventual 20-17 loss to their rivals from the NFC North.
The NFL levied the standard fine for a first-time offense for taunting, which is notably lower than that for pure unsportsmanlike conduct at $14,926.
Smith must be careful moving forward.
Not only can two unsportsmanlike conduct infractions in the same game lead to a disqualification, but the fine is substantially higher for second-time offenses. The league can fine players $17,911 for second offenses.
The good news for the Jets is that they avoided any other fines. That is despite having some questionable actions on their side during the contest.
Even better for the Jet in some ways, the NFL did come down on multiple Packers.
2 Packers Players Join Geno Smith in Receiving Fines After Win Over Jets
In addition to Smith, the NFL also docked a pair of Packers players following their win over the Jets in Week 2.
However, the punishments were not for the players that seemed most likely to receive one. Van Ness and teammates Javon Bullard, Dani Dennis-Sutton all drew flags for fineable offenses. Van Ness’ was for a roughing the passer one snap before Smith’s TDs and taunting flag.
Instead, the NFL levied judgments against Ty’Ron Hopper for unnecessary roughness in the first quarter. They got Chris McClellan for the same infraction in the fourth.
McClellan’s fine was expected, since he was flagged during the game.
The fine against Hopper comes as a surprise, though. Not only was he not flagged for a fineable offense during the game, he was not flagged for any infraction. Nevertheless, the NFL’s review process was on full display with this game.
The NFL issues fines at its own discretion. That is how multiple Jets and Packers players avoided further discipline, while Smith and a select few in Green Bay were docked.
NFL Punishes Jets’ Geno Smith, 2 Packers Players After Week 2 Matchup