Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will have a bye week to prepare for the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL playoffs. But before that, the Kansas City Chiefs may want to work on their discipline as Travis Kelce wasn’t the only player who recently caught the league office’s attention.
Apart from the Chiefs veteran tight end, the NFL also fined wide receiver Xavier Worthy and safety Jaden Hicks for actions stemming from Kansas City’s Week 17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas.
Just like Kelce, Worthy was charged $14,069 for Unsportsmanlike Conduct during a touchdown celebration. But while the tight end was penalized for “use of prop” after dunking the ball over the goal post, the Chiefs wideout’s infraction had to do with a violent gesture.
Hicks, on the other hand, had to pay a lower fine as he was hit with a $5,151 penalty for taunting Steelers wide receiver George Pickens after a dropped pass. Either way, it’s safe to say both Reid and Mahomes will probably take note of this situation within the building.
Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid speak before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Inglewood, California.
While the penalties hit the players’ wallets this time, these kinds of infractions could prove costly in the playoffs, when the margin for error is lower. Reid and Mahomes have already won three Super Bowls in the last five years, but the Chiefs have a bigger goal this season, which is to pull off the first three-peat in NFL history.
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The 2024 NFL regular season finale saw Reid rest Mahomes and most of the Chiefs’ starters as the team didn’t have much to play for, with the AFC West title and the No.1 seed in the AFC already under its belt.
That resulted in a brutal 38-0 loss to the Denver Broncos, who needed the victory to clinch a playoff berth. While it’s never fun to losing by so much, the Chiefs knew that playing the starters wasn’t worth the risk.
There’s something bigger ahead for Kansas City, who will have home field advantage in the 2025 NFL playoffs. The team led by Mahomes and Reid will now get to watch from the outside how other teams battle it out in the Wild Card round, waiting to see if the Houston Texans or the Los Angeles Chargers become their first opponents of the postseason.
