Multiple media outlets are reporting that Packers FS Nick Collins has received a $50,000 fine for his helmet-to-helmet hit of Cowboys WR Roy Williams early in the fourth quarter of Green Bay’s 45-7 prime-time rout of the Cowboys. Collins is being fined the same amount that Patriots S Brandon Meriweather was ordered to pay after his similar hit earlier this season on Ravens TE Todd Heap.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged Collins’ hit in his press conference the day after the game. “I was standing right there,” McCarthy said. “It was a bang-bang play. I understand why the official threw the flag, and we actually talked about the mechanics involved in such a hit. That’s a tough call, but I think the refs are doing a good job.”

The way we see it

Collins might have gotten off easy for a hit that was a lot more blatant than the one on Colts WR Austin Collie that caused such a stir in the Colts-Eagles game. More than a few critics instantly speculated that Collins could be suspended, but the league instead was consistent in levying the same penalty that Meriweather had received.