Ouch. It wasn’t enough for Bryan Bresee to take another loss last week (his 23rd career loss since joining the New Orleans Saints). The third-year defensive tackle was fined $18,581 for an illegal use of the helmet in Week 3’s game with the Seattle Seahawks, an unnecessary roughness penalty which happened just five minutes into the game. Bresee is getting a $109,698 weekly game check this season, so that’s a big hit to his wallet.
It was a bad mistake from a pro who should know better. Bresee’s pressure on Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold helped lead to an incomplete pass on third down and what would have been a 41 yard field goal. Instead, he gifted the Seahawks a free first down and moved them halfway up to the end zone. Darnold scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the next play.
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These are the kinds of mistakes that have been frustratingly common for the Saints this year. New Orleans led the league in penalties going into Week 3 (31 of them), with just one team giving up more first downs by penalty; the Dallas Cowboys had 15 of them, ahead of the Saints (12). Kellen Moore’s team has looked like one coached by a greenhorn. He needs to get them playing with discipline, and soon.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL fines: Saints DT Bryan Bresee loses $18,500 after regrettable foul