At the 10:53 mark in the third quarter, on second-and-14 play at Cleveland‘s 10, Shedeur Sanders swung his arm to fire the ball straight to tight end Brenden Bates. But Pittsburgh Steelers‘ defensive tackle Cam Heyward pushed through, and before he knew it, Sanders was down. Many were sure Heyward would be fined for roughing the passer, but it seems the league would like to differ.

After all, Week 17’s GameDay Accountability Report was published on Saturday, and Heyward’s name was missing from the list of players fined.

Here’s what happened: Heyward pushed back the center, Luke Wypler, and reached the rookie quarterback. He had his right arm wrapped around Sanders as he threw the ball. As they fell, Sanders shifted his body, and Heyward also tried to move his weight to avoid completely falling on the quarterback.

Perhaps trying to minimize the extent of the hit on Sanders was noticed by the league. After all, Rams defensive end Desjuan Johnson, who landed on Atlanta Falcons’ QB Kirk Cousins, with his entire weight in Week 17, was fined $5,830.

Coming back to Heyward, while the referees penalized him 15 yards for roughing the passer during the game, the NFL believes the punishment was sufficient for the veteran, and he wasn’t fined for the play. In fact, no Pittsburgh player made it to the list of fines for Week 17.

Further, Heyward also addressed the matter on the Not Just Football podcast and clarified he would not blame the referees for the penalty on the field.

“He still had the ball when I wrapped up, and sometimes you just don’t see it,” the Steelers veteran said. “The refs are put in a hard spot; it’s hard to dictate what is and what isn’t. You got to move on in those situations.

“I would love for more clarity on that, but, man I wish he had held onto that ball.”

The Steelers veteran attempted to ask the officials why he drew a penalty, considering there was no way he could have stopped himself from finishing the tackle. Sanders threw the ball just as Heyward got to him.

Agreeing with his words, the league has also moved on. But one of Shedeur Sanders’ teammates was fined for something the league takes very seriously.

Shedeur Sanders’ safety penalized for Week 17 conduct

With four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Steelers’ tight end Darnell Washington got the ball from quarterback Aaron Rodgers on 3rd & 16 at Pittsburgh 14. He marched forward and gained 11 yards before a trio of defensive players, with Browns’ safeties Grant Delpit and Rayshawn Jenkins and linebacker Carson Schwesinger, tackled him down.

But Jenkins took the heat a notch higher by whispering some words in the TE’s ear and then clapping hard. The referees saw it and penalized them 15 yards. The NFL also noted the violation and highlighted its strict stance in the Week 17 report, imposing a $7,903 fine for taunting under the unsportsmanlike conduct rule.

As per Section 2, Article 1 of the NFL rulebook, taunting is prohibited as it may engender ill will between teams. It is categorized as unsportsmanlike conduct.

Regardless, the Browns will now shift their focus towards Week 18. They will face the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Sunday. On the other hand, the Steelers are set to play against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.