While last week’s focus on the brawl that ended with an indefinite suspension for Myles Garrett centered on his ugly on-field act, this week produced an explosive allegation from the Browns defensive end. Although Garrett did not accuse Mason Rudolph of using a racial slur publicly after the fight, he did say that occurred when pleading his case to the NFL. However, Garrett also told some of his Browns teammates the Steelers quarterback used the slur, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Freddie Kitchens added that he believes Garrett, who is not permitted to communicate with the Browns until he’s reinstated. The Steelers have denied the slur occurred, as did Rudolph’s attorney. Garrett’s statement indicated Rudolph’s alleged slur does not excuse his actions, but with the Browns and Steelers set to play again next week in Pittsburgh, with Rudolph presumably under center, this is likely to come up again soon.

With news of more fines being handed out, here is the latest from the AFC North:

• Rudolph, Garrett and Maurkice Pouncey led the way in fines for this ugly scene, but overall, the league doled out a whopping $716K in total fines assessed to the teams and players involved. While Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for a game, the Browns defensive tackle was not fined by the league for his role in the skirmish. Overall, 32 players were fined for varying roles in the fight, with most of them being charged just more than $3K, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
• A young staffer has John Harbaugh‘s ear during Ravens games. Football analyst Daniel Stern communicates win probabilities to the 12th-year Baltimore coach from the booth, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (subscription required). Current running backs coach Matt Weiss previously held this role, but Stern, a 25-year-old Yale graduate, is now tasked with aiding some of Harbaugh’s key game-management decisions. Be it the fourth-and-2 touchdown against the Seahawks or two-point conversion attempts against the Chiefs, the Ravens have been noticeably more aggressive this season.
• The Browns worked out former Colts safety Jake Thieneman this week, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).
• The Bengals will have left tackle Cordy Glenn back in their starting lineup on Sunday.