During Thursday night’s blowout between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, Ben Roethlisberger took a late hit to the head as he slid for a first down. Eric Reid came flying in and pummeled Big Ben on a helmet-to-helmet hit that ultimately got him ejected from the game.
Not surprisingly, a scrum developed when David DeCastro rushed in after the play to let Reid know what he did was in no way okay.
After the game, center Maurkice Pouncey told reporters that Roethlisberger made it clear he’s got the tab if the NFL hands down any fines over the incident.
Pouncey said Roethlisberger offered to pay for any fines the linemen might get for the scrum that ensued after the Reid hit.
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) November 9, 2018
As Troy Aikman said during the “Thursday Night Football” broadcast, Pittsburgh’s linemen were doing what was expected of them. Whenever a quarterback takes a shot like that, especially a late one like the one Reid dished out, some retaliation is going to be forthcoming.
However, given the way the situation really didn’t escalate beyond some minor grabbing and yelling, it would be a surprise if Big Ben had to shell out any cash next week.