Questionable Malik McDowell penalty from Week 6 leads to a fine as well

The Cleveland Browns have already played their Week 7 game with a 17 – 14 victory on Thursday Night Football over the Denver Broncos. The NFL is just finishing up with some business from the Browns Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Cleveland fans remember vividly how poorly the early part of the game against the Cardinals was officiated. While some of that got overshadowed by the Browns poor performance for the rest of the game, it didn’t help the team start well either.

A couple of the penalties that were called involved Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray. A roughing the passer call happened despite Murray barely moving after being touched and never falling to the ground.

Another penalty involving Murray has come back to light as Malik McDowell was just fined $3,667 for a play that many do not believe should have been a penalty anyway:

The play in question had Murray scrambling around, trying to make a play when McDowell closed in on him on the sideline. As Murray started to throw the ball away, the Browns defensive lineman attempted to make a play on the quarterback. McDowell ended up pushing Murray’s own arm into his own head, knocking him to the ground.

A play that didn’t seem worthy of a penalty now earns a fine.

Here are two replays from different angles of the play in question:

Obviously, the NFL not only believes that McDowell’s play deserved a penalty but that it was also fineable. It will be interesting if McDowell, his teammates, coaches or the organization make any statements publicly following the fine.