Texans RB Joe Mixon says NFL fined him $25K over ref criticism he didn't make

Joe Mixon and his agent are claiming the NFL fined the Houston Texans running back $25,000 for comments he did not make following the AFC divisional round defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

In a game where calls made against the Texans for penalties on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have been under scrutiny, Mixon gave his thoughts on the officiating afterward.

Agreeing with Mixon was former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who posted on X, "Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are [trash] & bias."

According to ESPN's DJ Bien-Aime, a Sports Illustrated story originally attributed Houshmandzadeh's comment to Mixon, which was cited in the $25,000 fine.

Mixon posted on Wednesday about the apparent mistake by the NFL saying, "I'm getting fined by the @nfl for what someone else said. What's next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross-checking an opponent on a @nhl game!"

Mixon's agent told ESPN that they will appeal the fine to "defend" Mixon and will "explore all other legal avenues to rectify this situation."

After Mixon went public on Wednesday, Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL re-issued the $25,000 fine and cited the running back's comment, “Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man" after the Chiefs game.

That quote was not mentioned in Mixon's initial fine letter.

Mixon was previously fined $11,255 following their wild-card round win over the Los Angeles Chargers for "unnecessary roughness."