As if the ending of the Carolina Panthers' Week 1 loss to the Cleveland Browns was not controversial enough, the NFL has now decided to add insult to injury for Carolina defensive end Brian Burns and Panthers fans everywhere. This is after the league has slapped Burns with a $15,914 fine for roughing the passer in the closing moments of their matchup against the Browns.
According to Michael David Smith of PFT, not only has the NFL offered their full support on the referee's contentious call on Burns, but they've now decided to double down on it by fining him with quite a hefty penalty. More than a few folks out there believed that it was an incorrect call, but apparently, the league thinks otherwise.
For context, here is the play in question:
Moving past the penalty part of it, bc I think we all know this is simply a bogus call. But there’s nothing we can do about it now
BUT, this may be the best Bullrush I’ve seen from Burns in 4 years. That added weight shows on film man. This is a great play by Burns pic.twitter.com/lbYyH5hbQs
— IamMontyFetti 🖤💙✊🏾 (@4MR_Monty) September 14, 2022
Burns was flagged on this controversial play, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty for the Panthers. The Browns were eventually able to make a 58-yard field goal on the same drive as Cleveland escaped with a 26-24 opening-day victory against an aggrieved Panthers side.
It wouldn't be absurd to say that Carolina would have won the game if Burns was not flagged with a penalty for his tackle on Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett. They were up 24-23 at that point, but the 15-yard penalty certainly helped Cleveland's cause.
Burns and the Panthers have no other choice now but to move past this incident as they look to bounce back in Week 2 against the New York Giants on Sunday.
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