Before suffering a painful loss in Super Bowl LIX, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs faced intense scrutiny for their controversial win over C.J. Stroud‘s Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL playoffs.
The referees were accused of favoring the Chiefs with a couple of penalties against the Texans for making contact with Mahomes, and the league office took action against some of the accusations.
The NFL, for instance, handed Texans running back Joe Mixon―a key weapon for Stroud―a $25,000 fine for his comments about officiating after the game. But the player appealed, and after the hearing process on January 30, the NFL rescinded the fine.
In a letter to Mixon obtained by ESPN, appeals officer Chris Palmer explained: “After reviewing the totality of the evidence, I find that you did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials.
C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans hands off to Joe Mixon #28 against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” Palmer continued. “As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how impactful your platform is as a player, which I appreciate.”
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What did Joe Mixon say and why did the NFL fine him after the Texans’ playoff loss to Chiefs?
“Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs’ hands,” Mixon said after the Texans’ loss to the Chiefs in January, via the Associated Press. “The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs’ hands. It’s all good, though.”
Those were Mixon’s comments. However, the NFL initially fined Stroud’s teammate for something he didn’t actually say. The original fine mentioned a post made former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh, who wrote: “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are (trash) & (biased).”
First, Mixon was fined $25,000 for Houshmandzadeh’s post―which was wrongly credited to Mixon in a Sports Illustrated article (the mistake was later rectified). The NFL issued the fine based on the “50/50” quote, according to Mixon and his agent, Peter Schaffer.
Hours later, the league office reinstated the fine for the comments Mixon had actually made after the Texans’ loss in Kansas City. Mixon took to social media to complain about this situation.
Patrick Mahomes (R) #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs talks with Joe Mixon (L) #28 of the Houston Texans after the AFC Divisional Playoff at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say. Call them out for it, and they response was fine me AGAIN for something that’s not even a violation without even rescinding the first one,” the 28-year-old wrote on X. “Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players.”
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NFL rescinds another fine on Texans player after playoff game vs Chiefs
Another teammate of Stroud who caught the league office’s attention was Will Anderson Jr. The Texans defensive end was penalized for a hit on Mahomes on third-and-eight that led to a Chiefs field goal, and he later complained.
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” said Anderson, who also received a $25,000 for that comment. But according to The Athletic and ESPN, his appeal proved successful, just like Mixon’s.
