New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon was fined $26,739 for a hit on Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in their 27-20 victory last week. The Texans were on their own 1-yard-line and attempting to make a fourth-quarter comeback in the closing minute of the game to tie things up when Harmon was flagged for unnecessary roughness. While the penalty did help them advance the ball, the Texans were not able to convert the drive into a score.

Harmon felt that his hit was fair game. Officials believed Harmon made undesirable contact with Hopkins' head, but Harmon felt differently.

“I felt like it was a clean tackle. All honestly, I felt like it was shoulder. My shoulder hit his back,” Harmon said in an interview with the Providence Journal. “You know what I’m saying? It’s a bang-bang play. We’ll see, but I feel like it was a clean tackle.”

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Clearly, the referees did not share the same sentiments as Harmon. However, Harmon was understanding seemed to be willing to make adjustments if he was in fact in the wrong.

“Oh yeah definitely gray area, but they just want to make the game safe,” Harmon said. “We’ll look at it as a team tomorrow and see what coach [Bill] Belichick says. If I need to switch something up, I’ll switch something up. If not, I’m just going to keep trying to play aggressive and keep playing the way I know how to play football.”