Denver Broncos linebacker Joe Mays has been suspended for one game and fined $50,000 by the NFL for his hit on Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub over the weekend.

The Texans' Matt Schaub lost a bit of his left ear lobe on the helmet-to-helmet hit he took from the Broncos' Joe Mays. AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

Mays is appealing the suspension, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

When asked after the game whether he expected to be fined, Mays said: "Oh yeah. I'm expecting that. But it was not my intention to do that."

On Monday, Broncos coach John Fox defended Mays' vicious hit on Schaub that cost the quarterback a chunk of his ear.

"I know this: He doesn't do it intentionally to hurt him," Fox said. "That's not Joe Mays. That's not what we teach. It's accidental. Playing football. You see it around the league every week."

Schaub went through his normal Monday routine and looked "fine" the day after losing a bit of his left ear lobe.