Miami Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer has been fined $11,193 for his hit on Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman in the final moments of the Week 9 divisional bout, per ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. The veteran defensive back was called for unnecessary roughness on the play and gave the Bills a fresh set of downs, with Buffalo ultimately capitalizing in the form of a 61-yard game-winning field goal off the leg of Tyler Bass.
The hit occurred with just under one minute remaining in the contest; quarterback Josh Allen targeted Coleman on a deep pass that Poyer broke up, initiating contact with his head and seemingly crushing Coleman’s hand with his helmet. The rookie pass-catcher left the game and was later seen with a taped wrist; he’s already been ruled out for the Bills’ Week 10 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts, and head coach Sean McDermott stated on Friday that the team expects him to miss several weeks.
Poyer, who himself started 107 games for Buffalo from 2017–2023, stated after the game that he felt the play was clean; though injuring Coleman obviously wasn’t his intention, the league demonstrably disagrees with Poyer’s assessment of the hit. He wasn’t the only Dolphins player fined after the contest, as running back Raheem Mostert also picked up an $18,830 fine for a first-quarter play in which he led with his head to run through Bills safety Taylor Rapp; the Buffalo defender was ironically the one who was initially penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play.
