Bears player gets punished by the NFL before critical Seahawks game

Bears player gets punished by the NFL before critical Seahawks game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Chicago Bears are coming up on an important game against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday. The Bears are 5-2 heading into the showdown, and the Seahawks are 4-3, making this a close meeting between two NFC rivals.The game is in Seattle, so the Bears will head there to take on the reigning Super Bowl champions on Monday. But ahead of the game, one Bears player has been slapped with punishment from the NFL for his actions in the team's game against the New England Patriots.Clark Phillips gets fined by the NFL ahead of Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks gameEach week, the NFL hands out punishments in the form of fines to players for actions taken in the games the week prior. On Saturday, the NFL officially hit Bears cornerback Clark Phillips with a fine of $11,550 for unnecessary roughness and use of the helmet during the second quarter of the game against New England, with 11:37 remaining.Specifically, he was fined for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during Chicago's 30-24 Thursday Night Football victory. The play happened when Maye scrambled toward the end zone on second-and-goal from the Bears' seven-yard line. As Maye dove toward the goal line, Phillips lowered his head and made contact with his helmet. Officials didn't throw a flag on the play at the time, actually, but the NFL reviewed it and called the fine afterward.So, he'll have to pay up, but this fine didn't come with any more severe punishments, so he should be good to go for the Bears on Monday.More NFL news:Raiders' Kirk Cousins already floated as a trade targetLions' Aidan Hutchinson gets emotional after Jack Campbell injury turns devastatingAmon-Ra St. Brown injury update: Lions star exits game against Vikings