Isiah Pacheco fined $46,371 for use of helmet on play that wasn't flagged

When Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco caught a short pass and collided with Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland near the sideline, it seemed unremarkable: The officials didn't flag it and the announcers didn't comment on it.

But the league's disciplinary office had a big problem with it.

The NFL has fined Pacheco $46,371, one of the biggest fines of this season, for what it described as "use of the helmet."

Video of the play shows that Pacheco did lower his helmet before running into Bland, but it wasn't the kind of hit with the crown of the helmet that is normally seen as the type of play the league cracks down on. The hit happened along the Cowboys' sideline, and the Cowboys didn't react as if Pacheco had committed a penalty.

And that points to the disconnect between what the league office views as illegal use of the helmet and what NFL players understand to be illegal use of the helmet. The league thinks Pacheco committed a serious violation of its rules, on a play that the players themselves thought of as ordinary.