Before running into the streaking New England Patriots on Thursday, the New York Jets looked like they were undergoing a renaissance of sorts. After losing their first seven games in a row—albeit five of them by a touchdown or less—the Jets suddenly found themselves on a mini-streak of two straight wins, sandwiched around a bye week.
The second of those wins, at home over the Cleveland Browns in Week 10, was not a pretty affair. The Jets scored 10 fourth-quarter points while holding Cleveland to just three, hanging on for a 27-20 victory. The game was marred by a total of 18 penalties, though one was declined. Seven of the accepted flags came against New York, costing the home team 61 yards.
But the officials also missed some rules violations, at least according to the NFL Operations Office, which independently reviews every play from every game in search of infractions that may merit league discipline. The biggest miss, judging by the league office’s response, came against Jets five-year veteran cornerback Brandon Stephens.
### 24 Fines Handed Down From Week 10
After getting nothing out of a four-play opening drive, the Browns got the ball back on a Jets punt and marched 95 yards down the field for the game’s first touchdown. On the second play of the nine-play drive, Browns quarterback connected with 2024 Pro Bowl wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on a five-yard pass. Stephens made the tackle, but according to the league office, he illegally used his helmet to bring Jeudy down.
The officials on the field either did not see the alleged violation or did not deem it worthy of a penalty call. But the Operations Office certainly did, slapping Stephens with the second-largest fine handed down to any NFL player in Week 10.
On Saturday, the league announced that it was doling out 24 fines to 23 different players on 15 teams for various violations stemming from Week 10 games.
### 2nd-Biggest Fine of Week
Of those fines, only one financial assessment was heftier than the $22,388 handed down to Stephens. That went to the Washington Commanders’ Javon Kinlaw, who was fined $28,555 for what the NFL described as “contact with an official.”
Stephens could have been fined an even larger sum. Under the NFL collective bargaining agreement, the designated fine for helmet use is set at $23,186 for a first offense. However, the league office apparently exercised its discretionary authority to shave a little less than $1,000 off Stephens’ fine.
This leniency may be due in part to Stephens’ disciplinary history. He has committed only two previous penalties this season and, more importantly, has incurred just one prior fine. That fine came in 2023 when Stephens was a member of the Baltimore Ravens—the team that made him a third-round draft pick in 2021—when he was assessed $7,251 for a hit on a defenseless receiver.
### Stephens in First Year With Jets
Later in the Week 10 game, Jeudy made Stephens pay after all, beating the cornerback for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
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Stay tuned for more updates on the Jets and other NFL teams as the season progresses.
https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/new-york-jets/brandon-stephens-punishment-browns/