NFL makes final punishment decision on Dallas Cowboys star who performed banned move during Bengals loss
An NFL penalty decision has officially placed a seasoned defense for the Dallas Cowboys on the losing end.
Donovan Wilson, the Cowboys’ safety, was fined for using a prohibited move during the team’s Week 14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, which ended in a 27–20 loss.
Wilson was fined $16,883 by the NFL for tackling Bengals tight end Tanner Hudson in the fourth quarter of the Monday Night Football game, according to a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Sunday.
Although Wilson, 29, was not flagged during the play, the NFL decided that his actions qualified as a hip-drop tackle.
It was Wilson’s fifth fine in his six-year career and his second of the year.
For a late hit in Week 5 during the Cowboys’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was previously fined $11,255.
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The hip-drop tackle is punishable by a fine even if there isn’t a penalty on the field because it falls under the area of required roughness.
Despite their belief that the move shouldn’t be prohibited, NFL fans criticized Wilson for being punished for the tackle.
“He has no right to attempt that tackle.Watch him sprint into the end zone the next time. A fan appeared to write sarcastically, “Dirty player.”
“Whoa. Another person said, “They ought to just legalize [the hip-drop tackle] once more, lol.”
A third said, “This league is so soft smfh, I can’t even tackle anymore.”
“I’m hesitant to use the hipdrop tackle because, while I don’t want players hurt, it’s also very difficult to tackle players from behind, especially if they’re larger. My only option is to enforce aiming for legs.” It’s HARD to be a defender in the NFL,” a fourth person said.
As part of a rule change for the 2024 season, the league outlawed the hip-drop tackle, stating that a player “unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee” and “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms.”
Many of the greatest players in recent history have suffered severe injuries as a result of the move, including running back Tony Pollard during the 2022 playoffs while playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
The offensive player had a fractured fibula and a significant ankle sprain after San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward used the technique to put Pollard to the ground.
If the hip-drop is used during the game, the referee has the authority to give a 15-yard penalty and an immediate first down.
But in its first year as a prohibited act, the hip-drop tackle has led to more fines than on-field penalties.
The first Cowboys player to receive a fine for a hip-drop tackle was Wilson.
In Week 15, he would register five total tackles as the team defeated the Carolina Panthers 30–14.
Bryce Young was forced to turn the ball over four times by the Cowboys.
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Dallas has now won three of their previous four games and is 6-8 overall.
Next Sunday, they will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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