The NFL has made it paramount that they attempt to prioritize safety in certain situations. During the game, penalties can be called on players that leave you thinking, “Yep, that is going to cost him.”
In the case of Cody Mauch, he had two of those plays in as many weeks that the NFL decided were worth penalizing.
According to the NFL’s Gameday Accountability database, Mauch’s first fine came in the team’s Week 18 win over the New Orleans Saints. He was fined $9,451 for unnecessary roughness during the third quarter, with his second fine coming from the same penalty for a hit that came in the team’s Wild Card loss to the Commanders. He was fined another $9,451, bringing his two-week total for his fines to $18,902.
In addition to being knocked out of the playoffs, Mauch has had a costly couple of weeks as he enters another offseason in his NFL career.