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CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora is reporting that the Steelers and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders have been fined a total of $50,000 for faking an injury against the Bengals in Week 7.
La Canfora notes the NFL interviewed Sanders in Pittsburgh last week, and the league plans to announce the discipline Friday afternoon. It will cost Sanders $15,000 and the team $35,000.
As you'll recall, Sanders was healthy a few seconds after a fourth-quarter play ended and then fell to the ground, apparently in an effort to stop the clock and save a timeout. At the time, the Steelers were leading the game 24-17 and they went on to win by that score.
In its letter to Sanders, the NFL said his account of the incident differed from what the TV cameras showed. The league also pointed out that Sanders didn't look to be in extreme pain and that he didn't have previous signs of cramping.
As CBSSports.com's Ryan Wilson wrote at the time:
The spectacle led NBC color analyst Cris Collinsworth to observe, "All I know is, Emmanuel Sanders is in the huddle and he's not looking like he's in too much pain now (see above left). And then … oh boy, here comes the cramp (above middle) and he goes down (above right). So now they don't have to burn the timeout. That is a savvy play, let's call it that, on the part of the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Boothmate and play-by-play man Al Michaels was less impressed.
"Yeah, but our cameras are everywhere and we'll see how savvy it is in the league office tomorrow."
By Josh Katzowitz
La Canfora notes the NFL interviewed Sanders in Pittsburgh last week, and the league plans to announce the discipline Friday afternoon. It will cost Sanders $15,000 and the team $35,000.
As you'll recall, Sanders was healthy a few seconds after a fourth-quarter play ended and then fell to the ground, apparently in an effort to stop the clock and save a timeout. At the time, the Steelers were leading the game 24-17 and they went on to win by that score.
In its letter to Sanders, the NFL said his account of the incident differed from what the TV cameras showed. The league also pointed out that Sanders didn't look to be in extreme pain and that he didn't have previous signs of cramping.
As CBSSports.com's Ryan Wilson wrote at the time:
The spectacle led NBC color analyst Cris Collinsworth to observe, "All I know is, Emmanuel Sanders is in the huddle and he's not looking like he's in too much pain now (see above left). And then … oh boy, here comes the cramp (above middle) and he goes down (above right). So now they don't have to burn the timeout. That is a savvy play, let's call it that, on the part of the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Boothmate and play-by-play man Al Michaels was less impressed.
"Yeah, but our cameras are everywhere and we'll see how savvy it is in the league office tomorrow."
By Josh Katzowitz