Browns Mack Wilson not fined for tackle on Patrick Mahomes

Cleveland Browns linebacker Mack Wilson will not be fined for his tackle of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during last weekend’s Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.

While the tackle knocked Mahomes out of the game with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter, the officials did not flag Wilson and the league office confirmed that decision by not hitting Wilson with a fine.

Mahomes landed in the league-mandated concussion protocol, which led to several days of angst from Chiefs fans, including Mahomes’ mother, Randi, but numerous replays showed that it was a legal hit.

Wilson’s tackle was not even the most controversial play of the game, of course. That honor goes to Kansas City safety Daniel Sorensen’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland wide receiver Rashard Higgins near the end of the first half.

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Sorensen’s hit caused Higgins to fumble as he reached the football toward the end zone at the end of a 25-yard pass reception. The ball went out of the end zone for a touchback, denying the Browns a touchdown in a game they would ultimately lose by five points.

Rather than calling a clear penalty on Sorensen, which would have overturned the fumble and given Cleveland the ball at the one-yard line, the officials saw nothing wrong with what Sorensen did and declined to throw a flag for illegal use of the helmet.

Rather unsurprisingly, Sorensen was not fined for the hit as league officials came to the conclusion that Sorensen appeared to be “turning his head to use his shoulder to make contact with Higgins,” and the helmet-to-helmet shot appeared to be “incidental,” according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.