“It’s a long-standing policy and we’re going to enforce it,” is what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is going to tell you if you ask him what’s with the countless fines and punishments. And staying true to his words, the league has been coming down heavily on players every Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Post Week 11, the scenario was the same, but what caught the community’s eye were two names in particular—Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and defensive tackle Chris Jones.

Citing the fine category as “Unsportsmanlike Conduct (violent gesture)”, Mahomes was fined $14,069, while Jones incurred a $11,255 penalty for “Unnecessary Roughness (facemask)”. But do you know what exactly happened?

For the unversed: In the fourth quarter (7:59 mark) of the game between the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills on November 17, videos showed the QB making seemingly a gun or rifle shooting gesture. Jones, on the other hand, indulged in face masking—when a player illegally touches an opponent’s face mask to pull, push, turn or control them—Bills’ running back Ty Johnson at the 1:17 mark in the second quarter.

Notably, this is not the first time the Chiefs QB has been fined for unsportsmanlike conduct. Last December, he had incurred a staggering $50,000 penalty for yelling and being publicly critical of officials after the team’s Week 14 loss. Ironically, to the Bills. “I had outbursts on the sideline and everybody saw it on a big game, and so there’s going to be consequences to that,” the player had said while accepting the fine. This time, though, we still await a comment.

Apart from the KC Cheifs players, 17 other players have been fined—Detroit Lions’ Jameson Williams will have to pay the highest amount ($19,697) for falling backward into the end zone and grabbing his crotch. He was reportedly mimicking ex-Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch’s gesture after the “Beast Quake” touchdown run against the New Orleans Saints in the 2010 NFC Wild Card round.

Having said that, the NFL has publicly stated concern about the amount of “gun-related” celebrations, causing them to come up with stricter penalties. As per CBS Sports, till October this season, the league has issued at least 12 fines for “violent gestures” totaling over $150,000. Sportrac also reported 17 such fines this year alone, for what officials have been as “obscene gestures”. 

Talking about the sudden rise in ‘players mimicking a gun’ celebration, one league executive had noted last month: “[The rule] has been in the books for years, and it hasn’t really surfaced … haven’t really noticed it that much until this year. Now it’s almost an epidemic of them.”

In Week 2 this season, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London was fined $14,069 for gesturing shooting a big gun at the crowd following a TD. Similarly, Giants WR Malik Nabers was fined twice during the same game in Week 3, Jets receiver Allen Lazard had to pay $14,069 for shooting finger guns in Week 4, Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase was fined $19,697 in Week 5.

For now, the Chiefs must be planning to lower down such acts while thinking about their next game. However, the fines were not the only bad thing from the week 11 matchup, as the team also lost their first game of the 2024 season.

Patrick Mahomes turns to family to get over the loss

The 21-30 loss against the Bills did snap their dream run. However, if we look at the bigger picture, it’s all fine. To remove the football-related stress, the QB went out on a movie date with his wife Brittany Mahomes on November 22. It’s a perfect plan.

Patrick Mahomes gifted white flowers to his wife on the lovely evening. The couple also enjoyed popcorn and an ICEE, which Brittany shared on Instagram. Fans went crazy after seeing them having a great time together. After all, they are one of the most loved couples in the NFL.

It also changed the mood of Mrs. Mahomes, as she also got sad after the loss. Though she posted photos after every Chiefs win, she didn’t post anything after the defeat. While the Grim Reaper is going for a historic 3-peat, he is also getting ready for another big change in his life. His wife is pregnant with their third child. It would be a dream photo for the Chiefdom to see their quarterback, with the Lombardi Trophy in one hand, and his infant in another.