Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at Arrowhead Stadium on September 14, 2025.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took some heat for what some saw as a taunt toward Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch, but he avoided any further punishment for the incident.
The league on Saturday announced fines for all Week 6 games, with Mahomes not among the players facing punishment. Some fans and commentators called on the league to punish Mahomes for his celebration after a rushing touchdown in last week’s win over the Lions, but the league did not agree with the assessment.
Mahomes came under scrutiny for his rushing touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the first half. The Chiefs quarterback kept the ball on an option play, rushing in for a touchdown in front of Branch. As he crossed the plane, many believed that he taunted Branch by pointing toward the Lions safety.
Officials did not flag Mahomes for unsportsmanlike conduct, though the NFL reviews plays after the week ends and regularly issues fines for plays that are not flagged.
The league had made it known that it would be cracking down on taunting penalties, especially violent or otherwise suggestive gestures. League executive Troy Vincent said in a video sent to teams before the season that they didn’t want players showing up opponents.
“There’s no place in the game to be standing over your opponent,” Vincent said, via NFL.com. “There’s no place in the game to have violent gestures. That’s not the game of football. We just have to play by the rules, respect your opponent, respect your teammates and play the game in between the whistles.”
Mahomes has faced fines in the past, including $50,000 for verbal abuse toward officials after a loss to the Buffalo Bills. He was also fined more than $14,000 for a “violent gesture” against the Bills in a game last year.
The game ended with controversy as Branch struck Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after the game had ended, sparking a skirmish on the field between both teams. He was handed a one-game suspension by the NFL, losing his appeal.
The Lions also had a trick-play touchdown taken off the board when officials determined that quarterback Jared Goff did not come to a complete stop after splitting out wide before catching a touchdown. Officials huddled to review the play, and it was not until several minutes later that they determined that it was an illegal motion.
Referee Craig Wrolstad said after the game that he needed time to review the play.
“It’s my job to see if the quarterback stopped initially,” he said. “The down judge watches the player in motion, and we had to communicate between him, my umpire and my line judge whether or not he initially stopped at the quarterback position and then whether he stopped after he went in motion out of my view toward the left-hand side of the field.”
But Lions coach Dan Campbell appeared to contradict this statement, telling the hosts of “Costa & Jansen” later in the week that the call came in from the league headquarters in New York.
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty
