Buffalo Bills right tackle Cody Ford fined $28,000 for blindside block vs. Houston Texans

Buffalo Bills right tackle Cody Ford was fined $28,075 for an illegal blindside block committed in Buffalo’s 22-19 Wild Card loss against the Houston Texans. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the fine. Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN says Ford will appeal it.

The penalty itself was debated in the immediate aftermath of the game, as former Vice President of NFL officiating and current FOX NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira questioned the validity of the call on Twitter. In his weekly penalty recap, our own Jeff Kantrowski analyzed the play and deemed the penalty call to be correct by the letter of the law.

The fine adds insult to injury, as the play took Buffalo out of field goal range in overtime. Josh Allen had scrambled to the Houston 38, which would have given the Bills two options: attempt a game-winning field goal of approximately 55 yards, or attempt to convert on fourth-and-five. The penalty gave Buffalo a third-and-24 from their own 43-yard line, and after an incomplete pass to Duke Williams, Buffalo punted. We all know what happened next.

Sure, the penalty was correct, but on a weekend where that foul was called and drew a fine, yet Seattle Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney drove his helmet into quarterback Carson Wentz’s head while the latter was diving and drew neither a flag nor a fine, this news is sure to further aggravate Bills fans everywhere.

Bills radio color analyst and former offensive lineman Eric Wood weighed in on the fine:

Bills fans have apparently started a GoFundMe page to pay for the fine. Ford said he will use the money for charity or to throw a party. So, he’s a member of Bills Mafia.

For the record, the Bills made $28,000 for playing in the game, so he actually lost $75 by playing on Saturday if the fine stands.