Ending the regular season 12-5, the rather young San Francisco 49ers busted all myths about them. Then, they took it a step further and defeated the reigning champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19 in the wild-card round. But while the 49ers celebrated that victory, the NFL league office was already reviewing tape of one of their key offensive players.

When the NFL released its weekly fines this Saturday on its game-day accountability page, the 49ers’ fullback Kyle Juszczyk found his name not once but twice on the list. Both penalties, worth $10,144 each, came under the ‘unnecessary roughness’ category for the use of the helmet. He has not yet responded or appealed the penalty.

After recording an uptick in diagnosed concussions in the 2022 season, the league expanded a few rules to protect the players from the next season onwards. One of them was the rule against using the helmet as a weapon. A 15-yard penalty will continue to be called if a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent. The expanded version also called for penalties.

The first incident came on a 1st & 10 drive in the second quarter with 4:10 left and the 49ers trailing 7-13. As quarterback Brock Purdy got ready for the punt at Philadelphia’s 26, Juszczyk first ran towards the right and then towards the left during the punt. When Purdy completed a six-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey, the veteran FB tackled the bird’s No. 90, defensive end Jaelan Phillips, with his helmet. However, no flag was thrown at the time.

The second incident unfolded in the next quarter. With 2:05 remaining in the third quarter and San Francisco still trailing 10-16, Purdy made a 27-yard throw to Juszczyk on a first down. The fullback made a downfield block by lowering his helmet into safety Reed Blankenship. The referees didn’t notice the act and hence, did not throw a flag on the incident.

However, the league saw it all. Overall, the wild card win cost Juszczyk a total of $20,288. Paying fines is something he hasn’t done much this season.

The ten-time Pro Bowler only had one penalty in the entire regular season in 2025, which came in Week 9 against the New York Giants. That flag was for an illegal shift and cost him four yards. In his eleven-year NFL career, he’s only had 28 accepted penalties for 207 yards. No other player from the game from either of the teams was penalized or fined.

With this, Juszczyk will receive only $33,212 of the total playoff round bonus saved for each 49er. Each player earned $53,500 for the wild-card round and is now guaranteed $58,500 for Saturday’s divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.

Juszczyk’s physical presence turned out to be a defining factor in the team’s wild-card win. He also completed four catches for a season-high 49 yards and was a major contributor after George Kittle was taken out of the game due to injury. However, the team couldn’t capitalize on that against the Seahawks.

49ers pull Brock Purdy out against Seattle

Despite all the injury troubles and a young roster, the 49ers were able to go all the way to the divisional round. However, the league’s fourth-best offense and defense got the better of them. Their Super Bowl LX hopes ended with a 41-6 loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. Consequently, quarterback Brock Purdy was pulled out by the Niners in the fourth quarter against Seattle. Backup quarterback Mac Jones finished the game for the Niners.

Before Purdy’s exit, he completed 15-of-27 passes for 140 yards and one pick to go with five carries for 37 yards. He was the team’s lead rusher, but failed to make a score against the league’s fourth-best defense.

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This game marked the fifth time Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers faced a Mike Macdonald-led defense. Their playoff run came to an end Saturday with a brutal loss in the NFC Divisional Round. The team fell behind early and was unable to rally back against the Seahawks. A win would have sent the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game and kept their Super Bowl LX hopes alive.