The NFL has fined New England Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins for the helmet-to-helmet hit he put on New York Giants tight end Theo Johnson in their Week 13 game. According to NFL.com, Hawkins was fined $9,944 for a “hit on the defenseless player” in the second quarter of the game. It was a hard-hitting game where the Patriots established dominance on the defensive side of the ball. Perhaps the most controversial hit was linebacker Christian Elliss’ sideline hit on Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, which was completely legal. Dart stayed in bounds longer than necessary and attempted to pick up extra yards on a rush attempt before getting blasted out of bounds by Elliss. The rookie quarterback went flying and twisting in the air after taking the full force of the hit. That play started a sideline scuffle with Johnson shoving and grabbing Elliss in the aftermath. Johnson was ultimately flagged for unnecessary roughness. He was also fined $6,488 for the incident, which occurred in the first quarter of the game. The Patriots are a chippy team that plays with an edge under Mike Vrabel. Granted, they want to try to avoid costly penalties, but many of the hits on the Giants’ players were perfectly legal, despite looking devastating. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots’ defender fined for hit in Week 13 win over Giants