And Mixon was fined by the league, except with one problem: He did not say the words that the league fined him for. In issuing the fine, the NFL apparently cited a Twitter/X post made by former Bengals star T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who wrote, "Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are (trash emojis) & bias."

Joe Mixon was punished by the NFL for words he never even said. The Texans running back was fined $25,000 for what the NFL believed to be Mixon’s criticism of the officials after Houston’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Division game.