Denver Broncos fans looking for some delayed justice from Monday night finally got an NFL fine involving the Kansas City Chiefs.
Just not for the play many of them had in mind.
The NFL fined Chiefs right guard Trey Smith $6,750 for a fourth-quarter chop block during Kansas City’s 31-10 victory over Denver on September 14, according to the league’s official Week 1 accountability report. Smith was penalized on the field for the infraction.
That distinction matters after much of the officiating discussion from the game centered on Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who was not fined on the NFL’s published Week 1 list.
Trey Smith’s Fine Came on Fourth-Quarter Chop Block
Smith’s penalty came with 9:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kansas City had the ball at its own 34 when Emmett Johnson ran left. Officials called Smith for a chop block, wiped out the play and assessed a 15-yard penalty that left the Chiefs facing first-and-25.
The possession never recovered.
Johnson gained 19 yards on the next snap, but Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen later sacked Patrick Mahomes for an eight-yard loss on third down to force a punt.
The NFL followed Saturday by docking Smith $6,750.
There was another fine from the game, too — and it went the other direction. Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton received an $11,941 fine for a fourth-quarter late hit.
So this was not exactly a retroactive correction of Denver’s complaints about Monday night.
Travis Kelce Admitted Broncos Got a Bad Break
The play that drew considerably more attention came much earlier.
On Mahomes’ 15-yard touchdown run, Kelce engaged Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga near the goal line. No holding penalty was called. ESPN analyst Troy Aikman questioned the no-call during the broadcast, and Kelce later acknowledged on his “New Heights” podcast that he had put himself in danger of drawing a flag.
“I had the man up by his neck,” Kelce said, adding: “Can’t do it.”
Had officials called the hold, Mahomes’ touchdown would have been erased. Instead, Kansas City took a 7-0 lead and eventually pulled away.
Kelce’s name does not appear among the NFL’s 20 fines from Week 1. Smith’s does.
For Broncos fans still irritated about the officiating, that probably qualifies as justice with an asterisk.
Denver has a more immediate concern now. The 0-1 Broncos return home to face the 1-0 Jacksonville Jaguars on September 20 at Empower Field at Mile High.
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