Insult to injury: Will Anderson Jr. was fined for complaining over refs favoring Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs ended any hopes the Houston Texans had of making their first AFC Championship Game appearance. The Texans outgained the Chiefs by over 100 yards in the divisional round, but two questionable 15-yard penalties helped lift Kansas City to a 23-14 victory. 

The controversial penalties extended two possessions which ultimately resulted in 10 points for the Chiefs. The first penalty gifted Kansas City a new set of downs after an incomplete pass on third down, and the second penalty negated a negative play after Kansas City botched a snap in third quarter.

The game sparked frustration and conspiracies about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes receiving favorable calls. During postgame interviews, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. told reporters that they knew the officiating would favor Kansas City.

"We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game," Anderson said.

Will Anderson Jr. and Joe Mixon receive fines for criticizing officiating 

Now, Houston is being silenced by the league office. Although the Texans players were not fined for their “late hits” on Mahomes, the league did punish the players for their postgame comments. Anderson received a $25,000 fine for criticizing officiating, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

Texans running back Joe Mixon also received a $25,000 fine. Mixon was initially fined for comments he did not make. The initial fine was issued due to the league office mistakenly thinking Mixon made comments that were actually made by former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver C.J. Houshmandzadeh, per CBS Sports. Once the mistake was recognized, the NFL reissued the fine for comments Mixon actually made.

"Everybody knows how it is playing up here," Mixon said after the game. "You can never leave it into the refs' hands. The whole world see, man."

The NFL is expected to evaluate and expand replay assist to include more extensive review of penalties on the quarterback.

The rules were designed to protect the quarterback, but Mahomes has leveraged them as a weapon against defenses. The 29-year-old slows down before going out of bounds in hopes of creating additional contact from nearby defenders, and he has been accused of exaggerating contact in the pocket in hopes of drawing a penalty.