Chicago Bears defensive end Julius Peppers was fined $10,000 by the NFL for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the NFC Championship game.
The hit occurred at the 11:20 mark in the fourth quarter and it drew a personal foul penalty. It also looked cheap as fuck, but Rodgers didn’t seem to take issue with it after the game and Peppers appeared to apologize on the next play.
There has been some speculation Rodgers may have suffered his third concussion of the season on the play, but Rodgers has deflected that as nonsense.
“Not too much to talk about,” Rodgers said. “I didn’t have a concussion. I want to dispel that rumor. No concussion. I was fine. Yeah. Helmets are designed to prevent concussions, I think.”
Rodgers switched to a specially-designed helmet after suffering his second concussion at Detroit. He’s credited that with protecting him on the Peppers’ hit.