Lions LB Receives Fine From Cowboys Game

One Detroit Lions defender received a fine for an incident in the team's Week 14 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

On Saturday, the NFL announced Alex Anzalone among the players to receive fines for actions during the Week 14 slate of games. Anzalone was hit with a $17,698 fine for unnecessary roughness, labeled striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.

It's the second time Anzalone has received a fine this season, with the first coming after the team's Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game, he was initially fined $12,172 for unnecessary roughness, though his fine was later lowered.

The fine was lowered due to the NFL admitting that his contact was incidental, but he was still required to pay over $9,000. He openly questioned the fine after learning of the appeal.

Detroit won the game, 44-30, as they were able to knock off a Cowboys team that is chasing them in the playoff race. Still outside the playoff picture, the win over Dallas was massive for their playoff hopes.

A big part of Detroit's success against the Cowboys was the resurgence of their pass-rush, as they were able to generate plenty of heat on Dak Prescott throughout the night.

After getting just one sack total over the previous two games, the Lions were able to sack Prescott five times throughout Thursday's game. Leading the charge was veteran defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had three sacks to push his total on the season to a team-high nine. For his efforts, Muhammad was named the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week.

"Yeah, you try to generate little pressures," Anzalone said. "And then we were able to get home on some of these four-man rushes in that second half with Al-Quadin and the rest of the gang."

Anzalone has been a key cog in Detroit's defensive operation, once again being named one of the team's captains. In the final year of his current contract, he has been productive. He has 79 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defensed and one interception.

Three Cowboys received fines from the game, including former Detroit Lion James Houston. A 2022 draft pick of Detroit, Houston was fined $5,722 for a hit to the head of Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Also receiving fines from Dallas were tight end Hunter Luepke ($8,537) and wide receiver George Pickens ($11,593).

The Lions return to action on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. Detroit could help their playoff hopes greatly with a win, as the Rams currently sit as the second seed in the NFC.