Cowboys Player Facing NFL Punishment Decision Over Eagles Incident

Liufau, a former Notre Dame Fighting Irish Star, is currently in his second season in the NFL. He’s played in all 10 games for the Cowboys this season. Entering Sunday’s game against the Eagles, the 24-year-old has registered 24 combined tackles (15 solo), one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits.

Liufau has already been fined twice in his career. Last season, he was hit with a $5,749 facemask penalty. He had another facemask violation earlier this season, which resulted in a $7,186 fine. Incidentally, both incidents came against the Eagles.

Liufau could now be facing another fine from the league after he was flagged for a roughing the kicker penalty at the 4:45 mark of the opening quarter. The Eagles elected to punt the ball at 4th-and-10, but the champs were gifted a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down after Liufau was flagged for roughing Eagles place kicker Braden Mann as he punted the ball.

Based on the replay, however, it appears that Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy partially blocked the punt with his fingertips. This would have negated the penalty on Liufau, but the officials opted not to reverse the call. The Eagles went on to score a touchdown in the same drive.

According to the NFL rule book, a roughing the kicker violation is called when a player runs into or roughs a kicker who kicks from behind the line. However, the rule also indicates that no penalty should be called if the contact is “incidental to and occurs after the defender has touched the kick in flight.”

Nevertheless, the NFL will review Liufau’s penalty. Depending on how the league looks at it, the Cowboys LB could be slapped with another fine. For context, Los Angeles Chargers rookie linebacker Marlowe Wax was fined $4,762 earlier this season for a roughing the kicker penalty.

As of writing, the Cowboys are down 21-0 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half.