In Detroit’s Week 1 game against the Saints on September 13, 2026, Jahmyr Gibbs lowered his helmet on his second touchdown, a 1-yard run with 11:18 left in the third quarter. The officials saw nothing worth stopping, the touchdown stayed on the board, and the game moved on. Six days later, the league suddenly decided the play deserved another look. Skattebo had gotten away with similar contact before, but Gibbs was where the NFL finally drew the line.
“#Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs was fined $23,027 for use of the helmet on this play. He was not flagged,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on September 19.
And the play was hardly meaningless. Gibbs was Detroit’s engine that afternoon, finishing with a career-high 156 rushing yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns. His second score helped push the Lions toward a 21-0 lead, only for New Orleans to storm back and force overtime before Detroit escaped 31-30.
For Gibbs, the punishment also broke new ground. It was the first individual NFL fine of his four-year career. To put Gibbs’ punishment in perspective, his $23,027 fine was the largest handed to any player from Week 1. Other notable penalties included $11,941 for Broncos LB Alex Singleton, $6,750 for Chiefs guard Trey Smith, and about $8,000 for Kenneth Walker III, leaving Gibbs’ hit comfortably at the top of the opening-week fine sheet.
That is where the Skattebo comparison gets harder to dismiss. Against the Chiefs on September 21, 2025, with 1:09 left in the third quarter, Skattebo finished a 21-yard gain by lowering his head into contact. Yet no helmet-use fine followed.
Skattebo has never hidden what kind of runner he wants to be. “It feels good when you run somebody over and then get in the end zone,” he said after joining the Giants. He also admitted, “I more so hit people or attacked their one shoulder,” explaining that he views direct, head-up collisions as the most physical form of contact.
The NFL later described that same identity as a “violent, bowling-ball approach” to the position. Yet while the league went back six days later to punish Gibbs after his play against New Orleans, that call never came for Skattebo, despite documented examples of him lowering his head into contact.
That gap was all Lions fans needed to turn frustration into accusations of inconsistency.
“W**?! CAM SKATTEBO HAS DONE THIS AT LEAST 100 TIMES!” a fan wrote.
“If this resulted in a fine for Jahmyr Gibbs, Cam Skattebo might as well just have his game checks direct deposited into the NFL’s account. What the h***…?” wrote another.
“Cam Skattebo does this every time he’s on the field but alright,” read a comment.
“Absolutely ridiculous. NFL has gotten so soft. SMH!!!!” a fan called out.
“Skattebo should have no money then,” a fan did not mince his words.
“Tell me you hate the Lions without telling me,” shared a fan.
“Eh, stupid fine- he did nothing wrong. That entire game was horribly reffed. I’ll die on that hill,” wrote a fan.
Gibbs was trying to finish the play and get the ball across the goal line when he lowered his helmet and drove into the defender. In the end, he ended up paying a high cost is what is stinging the fans.