Justin Houston had rough way of missing out on contract bonus

But the official scorekeeper had other thoughts, unfortunately. It was soon ruled that Houston had actually split the sack with teammate Odafe Oweh. That put Houston at 9.5 sacks on the year — just barely short of the ten needed for his bonus.

Houston did not get a real chance to record a sack for the rest of the game since the Bengals, who were up 27-16, simply ran the ball to milk the clock. Thus, the 33-year-old finished his season a mere half-sack shy of his extra $1.5 million.

Of course, it is possible that the Ravens pay out Houston’s bonus anyway. The veteran had a magnificent 2022 season, leading Baltimore in sacks and also recording both an interception and a forced fumble despite making just one start (in 14 total appearances). But we are so used to seeing NFL players cash their incentives that Houston’s late whiff (by the slimmest of margins too) was especially brutal.