Houston Texans Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon was reissued a $25,000 fine by the NFL on Wednesday for his comments about the officiating in the divisional round loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, Will Anderson Jr. is getting the same penalty.
According to KRPC2 Sports’ Aaron Wilson, Anderson was fined $25,000 by the NFL for his postgame comments on the controversial officiating calls against the two-time defending champions.
Multiple times, the Texans were slapped with penalties because of supposed late hits against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that led to scoring drives. Anderson was flagged for roughing the passer on third down, eventually leading to a Harrison Butker field goal.
Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o and Anderson were called for an unnecessary roughness play as Mahomes, which led to an 11-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.
The Texans couldn’t catch a break during a frustrating loss despite outplaying Kansas City in nearly every phase.
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Anderson said postgame.
Perhaps the lone positive of the unheralded calls is that the league will discuss those to be reviewed and later reversed during the offseason.
Anderson also made it clear that Houston didn’t lose because of officiating, but rather self-inflicted wounds.
“At the end of the day, it’s about us,” Anderson said. “We have to do a better job of executing, we have to do a better job of being ready and no matter what the outcome we have to do a better job of handling Texans business on both sides of the ball.”
The Texans finish the 2024 season 11-8 after securing their second AFC South division title. Houston owns the No. 25 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.