Video: Raiders' Josh Jacobs Fined for Unnecessary Roughness for 2nd Straight Week

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was fined $21,855 by the NFL for unnecessary roughness in the team's Week 10 win over the New York Jets, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The league has increased the frequency of fines for ball-carriers lowering their head to initiate contact in 2023, which has affected running backs across the league.

This was the second consecutive game that Jacobs has received a $21,855 fine for lowering his head, as he was disciplined by the NFL for a similar play in the Raiders' Week 9 victory against the New York Giants.

Jacobs took to social media to defend himself after his first infraction. He called out the NFL in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Although the use of offensive players lowering their helmets to initiate contact is illegal due to a rule introduced in 2018, it rarely gets penalized during games and is instead enforced by fining the player at a later date.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there were 229 total fines and warnings for lowering the helmet in 2022 despite only four penalties being called during the games.

Entering Saturday, offensive players had received fines totaling over $215,000 for the impermissible use of helmets (per Spotrac).

Both current and former players have been unhappy with the enforcement of the rule, including three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt.

Pittsburgh Steelers backup running back Jaylen Warren has been one of the prominent offenders of the rule, receiving a $48,556 fine after Week 7. Watt took to social media to defend Warren, who's currently playing on a base salary of only $870,000 in 2023.

"This is literally stealing money from a guy," Watt said. "I mean what are we doing here? I don't care how much money you make, $48,556 is a LOT of money (it's Jaylen Warren's entire game check) and we're taking it away from him for this? Really? This is horrendous."

While Jacobs hasn't been fined as much as Warren, it's still a hefty deduction from his game check for a play that was legal a few years ago. Despite the infraction against the Jets, he still finished the game with 116 yards on 27 carries.