Poyer Fine Adds Insult to Bad Penalty

The NFL assessed four fines from the Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills Week 9 game.

Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer (21) separates Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) from the ball to break up a pass during the second half at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer's costly penalty in the Week 9 loss against the Buffalo Bills became costly in another way.

Poyer was among three Dolphins players fined for incidents during the 30-27 loss against Buffalo, along with running back Raheem Mostert and cornerback Cam Smith.

Poyer, however, was the only Dolphins who was flagged for the play that got him fined, and his roughness penalty kept alive the drive that ended with Buffalo's game-winning field goal instead of Buffalo having to punt to Miami with just under a minute left in a 27-27 tie.

Mostert received the heaviest fine, $18,830, for the play in which he lowered his helmet before making contact with Bills safety Taylor Rapp, who somehow was flagged for unnecessary roughness. We said after the fact that the Dolphins got a break on that one and that Mostert was fined for that play, not Rapp, which backs up our point.

Rapp did get fined for an incident in the game, though, and it again involved Mostert. Rapp was fined for taunting for his jawing at Mostert at the end of a 15-yard gain on a swing pass. That, incidentally, happened right before Mostert fumbled in Buffalo territory.

Smith was fined for a horse-collar tackle that occurred on Buffalo's first and only punt of the game after the Bills went three-and-out. Smith was one of two Dolphins players double-teaming Buffalo gunner (and former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mack Hollins) on the right side of the formation and got tangled up with Hollins along the Miami sideline.

Again, he wasn't flagged for the play but was fined $8,874.

Poyer's fine was for $11,193.

Mostert's fine was the second-biggest around the NFL for Week 9, behind only the $22,511 levied against New England Patriots edge defender Keion White for a horse-collar tackle against the Tennessee Titans.

COACHES COMMENT ON THE POYER PLAY

Poyer said after the game he didn't think his hit against rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman merited a penalty. Still, head coach Mike McDaniel and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver pointed out that helmet-to-helmet contact made him vulnerable at the official's discretion.

It's unfortunate. It's a bang-bang play. It's certainly up to interpretation from the official at that point. All you try to do with Jordan is, say, one, try to go get the ball, right? And hopefully in doing that, you don't make helmet-to-helmet contact.

- Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel

"It's unfortunate," Weaver said. "It's a bang-bang play. It's certainly up to interpretation from the official at that point. All you try to do with Jordan is, say, one, try to go get the ball, right? And hopefully in doing that, you don't make helmet-to-helmet contact. And at this particular time, unfortunately, in the league, you've really got to lower your target and make sure you're in the strike zone, which is easier said than done when you're when you're going at those speeds.

"So I hate that it happened. I hate that it happened to him in particular in that place because obviously you know the importance of that game, particularly to him being an old Bill. But the last thing you ever want to do as a coach is take away his aggressiveness. So you just continue to try to talk about the strike zone and then just go get the ball."