Last Saturday’s Texans-Chiefs playoff game included a pair of controversial penalty flags thrown after hits applied to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Neither of the two fouls, one for roughing the passer and one for unnecessary roughness after a late slide, drew fines.
The NFL did not fine Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. for a first-quarter roughing the passer foul. The league also did not fine defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi or linebacker Henry To’oTo’o for their Malachi crunch after Mahomes slid in the second half.
Both fouls prompted criticism of Chiefs bias on the part of officials. The fact that they weren’t fined suggests that, after more careful consideration of the film, the NFL decided that the hits did not merit punishment — which suggests that the flags shouldn’t have been thrown.
That said, the roughing-the-passer rule expressly requires officials to throw the flag even when in doubt as to whether roughing actually happened.
Of course, both Anderson and Texans running back Joe Mixon were fined for commenting on the officiating after the game.
The NFL’s stone tables have one very clear commandment to players.
Thou shalt not say anything mean about the officials.
In addition to the fine that was imposed on Texans running back Joe Mixon for what he didn’t say and the fine that was imposed on Mixon for what he did say, the NFL imposed a $25,000 fine on Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. for publicly criticizing officials.
Said Anderson after the loss to the Chiefs, “We knew it was going to be us against the refs going into this game.”
What he said isn’t as strong as what Mixon didn’t say, but it’s a hair stronger (maybe) than what Mixon did say.
The initial Mixon fine was based on this comment from former Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.”
The second Mixon fine was based on this, which he did say: “Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man.”
The players have every right to be miffed. As the league has previously said, Raiders owner Tom Brady can be fined only if he says something during Fox broadcasts that is “egregiously critical of officiating or call[s] into question the integrity of an official or the crew.”
“Egregious” means “extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant.”
Were Mixon’s comments egregiously critical? Were Anderson’s?
So either the NFL applies a different standard to owners like Brady, or the NFL has fined Mixon and Anderson for egregious criticism that was hardly “extraordinary in some bad way” or “glaring” or “flagrant.”
Either way, it seems excessive to fine Mixon and Anderson. Some would call it egregious.
And the fines ultimately serve only to shine a brighter light on the persistent flaws in the NFL’s officiating function.
Last year, the Texans went 10-7, won a home playoff game despite being the underdog, and gave a much better team a solid run in the divisional round. The effort landed offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik on the radar of five teams that were looking for coaches.
This year, the Texans went 10-7, won a home playoff game despite being the underdog, and gave a much better team a solid run in the divisional round. And Slowik got fired.
There were obvious flaws with the Houston offense this year. The offensive line was not good. They didn’t adjust to that fact well enough to win enough games to finish higher than the No. 4 seed. And only the rest of the staff and the players know the full details about the failure of Slowik to adapt to the adjustments made by opposing defenses, based on a 2023 season that few noticed until the Texans won the AFC South.
The point is that the window can close quickly for any assistant coach who attracts attention for a potential promotion. It’s why so many guys choose to jump through the window as soon as it’s open, even if a large pile of excrement is lurking on the other side.
For some, waiting a year might mean the window isn’t open again. For some like Slowik, it might mean getting fired from the job that positioned him for head-coaching consideration in the first place.
Slowik has a solid chance to land on his feet. The NFL operates an offensive coordinator recycling plant, with multiple guys failing sideways every year. Still, one year after being the next big thing in Houston, Slowik ended up out on his ass.
J.J. Watt gets it.
The CBS analyst, who in his short time as a broadcaster likely has learned that certain comments will prompt a call from 345 Park Avenue to the bosses, pulled no punches when criticizing the league’s boneheaded mistake regarding Texans running back Joe Mixon.
Earlier this week, the league fined Mixon $25,000 for publicly criticizing officials. The only problem? He didn’t say what he allegedly said; someone else did. When the NFL realized the error, it simply re-issued the fine, citing something Mixon had actually said — something that was much more innocuous.
On Friday, Watt retweeted our initial story on the matter with this observation: “This has not received enough attention. . . . He got fined for something he didn’t say. Publicly complained about it (correctly). Then got fined for that. What are we doing here?”
What they’re doing is whatever they want to do. What they’re doing is making it up as they go.
What they’re doing will only make more people leery about what’s really going on behind the curtain when it comes to officiating.
No, it’s not rigged. Yes, greater transparency (and less heavy-handedness in response to criticism) would help persuade people to remove their tinfoil hats and realize that mistakes are the product of incompetence, not conspiracy.
Instead of fixing the problems that lead to officiating mistakes, the NFL is far more interested in silencing those who would dare to point them out.
Fortunately, Watt welcomes whatever blowback he might get, if/when someone from the league office whines about it to CBS executives.
The Texans have made a significant change to their coaching staff.
Houston has fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, according to multiple reports.
Slowik, 37, was praised for his work with quarterback C.J. Stroud during the 2023 season, helping the No. 2 overall pick of the draft earn AP offensive rookie of the year. But Stroud more than doubled his interceptions in 2024 and his passing numbers dipped significantly, despite playing in two fewer games. Houston finished at No. 19 in points scored and No. 22 in total yards in 2024 after being No. 13 and No. 12 in the same categories the previous season.
Slowik was previously alongside Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans with the 49ers. Slowik was hired in Kyle Shanahan’s first season with San Francisco, serving as a defensive quality control coach before moving over to become an offensive assistant in 2019. He became the team’s offensive passing game coordinator in 2022 before heading to Houston with Ryans in 2023.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, offensive line coach Chris Strausser has also been fired after two seasons with the club.
The Texans will have a significant offensive overhaul for Stroud’s third season in 2025.
