Steelers safety Ryan Clark‘s hit on Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker has been a huge hit on YouTube, drawing close to 150,000 views since Sunday’s game.

Even the NFL has repeatedly watched it and, after it did, it determined that even though the Steelers were penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on a defenseless receiver, the hit was not worthy of a fine.

An NFL official said Wednesday that the league will not fine Clark for his hit on Welker, even though he was penalized for it. Some of the Patriots players said after the game that they expected the league to crack down on Clark, but it did not. The hit was brutal, but not illegal, at least not in the eyes of the NFL decision makers.

Throughout the season, we’ve seen the league fine players for plays that officials did not flag, but now we have seen the league not fine a player for a hit the officials did flag.

Posted in: Adam Schefter  | comments  |