NFL punishes a pair of Kansas City Chiefs defenders ahead of their matchup against the Bills in AFC Championship Game
The NFL has fined Kansas City Chiefs safeties Justin Reid and Bryan Cook for incidents during their divisional round playoff win over the Houston Texans last week. Cooks' fine is for unnecessary roughness (hip-drop tackle) in the amount of $8,443. It occurred early in the first quarter as Cook tackled Texans tight end Dalton Schultz. […]
The NFL has fined Kansas City Chiefs safeties Justin Reid and Bryan Cook for incidents during their divisional round playoff win over the Houston Texans last week.
Cooks' fine is for unnecessary roughness (hip-drop tackle) in the amount of $8,443. It occurred early in the first quarter as Cook tackled Texans tight end Dalton Schultz. Cook was not penalized on the play.
The league has put a point of emphasis to crack down on hip-drop tackles, but officials have struggled to identify them on the field during real time and have frequently not called them. However, the NFL often catches them after reviewing games throughout the week and hands down fines as punishment.
Defenders are in a tough position when it comes to hip-drop tackles as they are trying to do as much as they can to take down the ball carrier. If they were to let go of the player they are attempting to tackle to avoid a hip-drop, the backlash would be overwhelmingly negative.
As for Reid, he was fined $14,069 for an unsportsmanlike conduct violation (violent gesture), making a throat-slash gesture during the fourth quarter. The NFL, and pretty much every professional sports league, are strictly against players indicating or signaling any form of violence.
Reid's teammate, wide receiver Xavier Worthy, has been fined twice this season for making violent gestures. While Reid very likely didn't mean any ill will while making the gesture, the league simply has zero tolerance for it being displayed during a game.
Reid and Cook will put these incidents behind them as they gear up to face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. The Chiefs will be leaning heavily on both starting safeties as they look to slow down Bills quarterback Josh Allen and advance to their third consecutive Super Bowl.
