Two Patriots Players Fined For Illegal Hits In Win Over Jets

Mac Jones avoided NFL discipline for his actions against the New York Jets. Two of his Patriots teammates weren’t so lucky.

The league on Saturday fined wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster $16,391 and safety Jabrill Peppers $43,709 for unnecessary roughness in New England’s Week 3 win at MetLife Stadium.

Smith-Schuster’s punishment was for his illegal blindside block on Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley, which drew a personal foul penalty. Smith-Schuster later said he was inspired by watching Hines Ward blocking highlights before the game and “wasn’t thinking” on the play.

Peppers was not penalized in-game for his hit, which came against running back Breece Hall midway through the second quarter. The hard-hitting defensive back previously was fined by the NFL in 2017 and 2020.

The league did not hand out any fines for the game’s most controversial sequence. Mosley, Jones and Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner all were not punished for their roles in the scuffle that followed a fourth-quarter quarterback sneak.

Mosley body-slammed Jones to the turf as the QB fought for extra yards after the whistle, and Gardner subsequently shoved Jones, which he said was a reaction to the Patriots signal-caller hitting him in the “private parts.”

Jones said this week that “nothing was intentional” on the play.

The Patriots will visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. The Jets will host the Kansas City Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football.”