Seymour fined $25,000 for his hit on Big Ben
ALAMEDA, Calif. — A blowout loss to Pittsburgh to end a three-game winning streak was bad enough for the Oakland Raiders.
At least they know they won't be without stalwart defensive tackle Richard Seymour this week following his ejection for hitting Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the helmet.
The NFL announced Monday that Seymour would be fined $25,000 for his actions in the second quarter of Oakland's 35-3 loss at Pittsburgh. But there was no suspension.
Coach Tom Cable said before the punishment was announced that Seymour knows he made a poor decision and that his team needs to do a better job maintaining its discipline, even in a physical game like the one Sunday.
“He texted me last night and feels bad about it and knows he was wrong, and we'll move forward,” Cable said Monday.
The infraction happened late in the second quarter after Roethlisberger threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders to give Pittsburgh a 21-3 lead. As Seymour was jawing with some of the Steelers offensive linemen, Roethlisberger ran up and appeared to say something before Seymour hit him with an open hand in the jaw.
Roethlisberger fell to the ground, but was not injured and stayed in the game. Seymour was given a personal foul and was ejected.
“All the offensive linemen, as well as some of us, were getting chippy because they were chipping after the whistle,” Oakland linebacker Quentin Groves said. “As Ben goes and tries and break the fight up, Richard reacts. That's just a reaction that a fighter has, and that's what he is, a fighter. To react like that is just a basic combination.”
Some of the Raiders said they were upset with the call, saying it was a physical game with chippy play from both sides. Pittsburgh was called for 14 penalties for 163 yards, including six personal fouls.
“I don't like the ejection,” safety Mike Mitchell said. “I'll say that. That's frustrating. They were doing stuff to us, they just caught the one act that we do, and they want to throw a guy out. Which I think is huge. He's one of our better players, a leader on our team. We want to turn everything into a street fight and we didn't win it. So shame on us.”
Seymour was not available for comment Monday but after the game he said he felt bad for letting down his team. He would not divulge what Roethlisberger said to provoke him, calling his response a “natural reaction.”
