Josh Allen aims to guide the Buffalo Bills back to the Super Bowl, a stage they’ve not graced since their four consecutive appearances in the 1990s. Standing in their way, however, is the formidable Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs, whom they must face in the high-stakes AFC Championship Game.
The Bills earned their spot in the final four by first steamrolling through the Denver Broncos with an impressive 31-7 victory in the wild-card round. The Divisional Round, though, brought a stiffer challenge as they managed to edge out Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in a nail-biting 27-25 win.
In the midst of these playoff battles, the NFL recently announced fines for ten players involved in the Divisional Round clashes. Buffalo’s defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, found himself among those penalized. The incident in question occurred at 8:46 of the second quarter when Jackson, on a scramble for 11 yards, was taken down by Oliver as they tumbled out of bounds. Although the play didn’t draw a penalty flag then, Oliver has been slapped with a $16,883 fine for what the league termed “unnecessary roughness (hip-drop tackle).”
This decision stirred up quite a flurry of reactions from NFL fans on social media. Opinions ranged from calling the fine “pathetic,” suggesting the league ignored the issue during the game but revisited it afterwards, to expressing surprise that a fine was even imposed since similar penalties involving Lamar often go unflagged.
Oliver is not alone, as the fines from the Bills versus Ravens showdown didn’t stop with him. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey received the heftiest fine of the week—$45,020 for “unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet)” against Allen.
Despite the fine, Oliver remains available for the crucial confrontation with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, set to kick off on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. As the Bills gear up for this showdown, their focus will be keenly directed on overcoming Mahomes and company to take a big leap towards their Super Bowl aspirations.
