A.J. Green among fined players from Bengals vs Steelers game; fines total more than $138,900

The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers have both been hit hard in the wallets as a result of Sunday's clash between the two AFC North rivals.

However, Bengals receiver A.J. Green was fined for something that wasn't a cheap or dirty hit like most players from Sunday's bloodbath were. Instead, Green was fined for punting a ball into the stands, the same ball that was the 66-yard touchdown pass he hauled in from quarterback AJ McCarron.

Green has been fined $11,576 for the punt as the NFL thinks punting or throwing a ball into the stands is an unsafe act and could injure a fan (I guess they've never been to a baseball game?). This is actually the second fine Green has received this season for throwing or punting a ball into the stands.

Here is the touchdown play in which Green gets behind the Steelers defense before breaking a pair of tackles en route to the end zone:

And here is Green punting the ball into the stands:

Unfortunately, that was a ball that McCarron would have liked to have had. After all, it's not often you throw your first touchdown pass in the NFL, and that would have been nice souvenir for him, regardless of whether he throws another touchdown pass or tosses 500 more.

"We got to the sideline and I was like, ‘Hey, you got that ball?’ " McCarron said of the play, via Bengals.com. "He said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I asked what happened. He was like: ‘I punted it.’ "

McCarron didn't even get to keep the second score he threw to running back Rex Burkhead in the fourth quarter.

"I didn’t get the second one either," McCarron said. "The referee chunked it over to another one. I was like, that’s gone."

Oh well.

The good news is plenty of Steelers were fined for various acts on Sunday. Cornerbacks Brandon Boykin and William Gay were each fined $8,681 for unsportsmanlike conduct via a group demonstration after a touchdown. The celebration in question came after Gay intercepted McCarron in the third quarter and took it the other way for a pick-six.

After the score, Gay and Boykin made sure to celebrate the play for as long as possible, including after the flag had been thrown. Oh, and a Steelers coach got involved, too.

So to recap:

1. Green, Gay and Boykin were fined for excessive celebration.

2. Steelers guard David DeCastro was fined for grabbing the facemask of Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry.

3. Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was fined for illegal hits on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and fullback Roosevelt Nix.

4. Steelers safety Mike Mitchell was fined for his hit on Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert.

5. And last but certainly not least, Steelers safety Antonio Brown was fined $8,681 for an illegal crackback block on Bengals safety Reggie Nelson.

That makes nine fines totalling $138,906.

The bright side: This game did do a lot of good for charity as all of this money is donated to charity by the NFL at the end of the season.