After the first two weeks of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs are just one of nine teams with an undefeated record. After two closely contested games, Kansas City prevailed at home by a total of eight points over the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. During the game on Sunday, the Chiefs managed to contain the Bengals’ running game while only picking up four penalties to their opponent’s eight. Despite KC’s mostly clean performance, one defender had to open his wallet when the league office fined him on Saturday.
Famous linebacker Nick Bolton will have to pay $16,883 as a fine from the NFL for a hip drop tackle during the victory last Saturday. T.J. Edwards, Desjuan Johnson, and C.J. Mosley were also punished by the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell for hip drop tackles. Johnson was the only one to earn a fine below $16,883.
Kansas City Chiefs LB Nick Bolton Fined by NFL
This offseason, the 32 NFL clubs unanimously decided to do away with the hip-drop tackle. A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender “rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle,” according to the NFL’s operations page. A hip-drop tackle is good for a first down and a 15-yard penalty. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton tackled Cincinnati Bengals pass-catcher Erick All with a hip-drop last weekend; the play did not immediately draw a penalty. But after the league’s seven-day film review period, Bolton was fined $16,883 for his hip-drop tackle on Sunday.
Additionally, Kansas City wideout Xavier Worthy was fined $11,255 by the NFL for taunting. Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs running back, and Peyton Hendershot, the tight end, were both fined $5,000 by the league last weekend for inappropriate behavior and unsportsmanlike behavior, respectively. The total fines assessed to the NFL this season are rapidly surpassing $5 million.
