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Steelers Penalized for Blocking Browns Player So Long He Ended Up Sitting on Bench

Stephen Douglas

Mike Ford Jr. gets blocked into the opposing bench.
Mike Ford Jr. gets blocked into the opposing bench. / @NFLonPrime
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The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers headlined Thursday Night Football in Week 12. The Steelers missed a field goal on the first possession, but were not to be outdone in the bad kicking department as Browns' punter Corey Bojorquez booted it just 12 yards after the offense went three-and-out on its first drive.

Fortunately, there was a personal foul on the return team that backed the Steelers up to the 19. How did the return team get called for a personal foul? By blocking the gunner onto the bench.

Cleveland's Mike Ford Jr. lined wide to cover the punt and was immediately pushed out of bounds by Pittsburgh safety Damontae Kazee. With both players holding a handful of jersey or more, it didn't take much time for them to both end up on the Steelers' bench. In fact, Ford Jr. ended up sitting on the Steelers' bench.

A little pushing and shoving likely happened on the way back to the field, but it didn't matter. Kazee had already been flagged for a personal foul.

In years past this wouldn't even be considered a penalty in the AFC North. Suddenly it's against the rules to push a guy into the bench?

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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