Kansas City Chiefs veteran defensive back L’Jarius Sneed drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for shoving the Colts’ Josh Downs out of bounds, and the offsetting penalty preceded a backbreaking Indianapolis touchdown on the next play.
The Chiefs survived anyway, rallying to beat the Colts 33-30 in overtime, but Sneed now waits to see if the NFL will take further action to punish him for the violation. Unnecessary roughness calls are often accompanied by a league fine days later.
The sequence unfolded on third-and-6 from the Kansas City 31 with 1:10 left in the second quarter. Daniel Jones found Downs on a short pass for seven yards, and Sneed shoved him out of bounds at the Chiefs’ 24. Officials threw flags on both players for unnecessary roughness. Because the fouls offset, the ball stayed put at the 24, and Jonathan Taylor ran it in from there for a 24-yard score on the very next snap. Spencer Shrader’s extra point made it 20-17 Indianapolis, and Andy Reid spent the next few minutes making his case to the officiating crew.
L’Jarius Sneed’s Fine Outlook and Recent Past
The NFL fine list for any week’s games does not surface publicly until the following Saturday. Sneed’s offense could fall under several possible punishable categories, including late hit, striking, kicking, tripping, kneeing, or unsportsmanlike conduct. Those violations carry price tags of $11,593, $12,172 and $14,491, respectively, for first offenses, according to the NFL’s fine schedule, with steeper penalties for repeat violators.
Or Sneed may not be fined at all. The NFL reviews every play independently, and whether an official threw a flag on the field or not isn’t a determining factor in whether a player is fined.
Sneed already has a fine on his record for an unrelated outburst. In 2023, the league docked him $13,659 for unsportsmanlike conduct after he yanked off his helmet to argue a no-call, according to an NBC Sports report.
The 29-year-old, drafted by Kansas City in the fourth round out of Louisiana Tech in 2020, won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs before Tennessee traded for him in 2024 and signed him to a four-year, $76 million contract.
Injuries limited him to 12 games over two seasons with the Titans, who released him in March. Kansas City brought him back in June. A December 2024 shooting case involving Sneed at a Dallas-area car dealership was dismissed in May, though a related civil suit remains pending, according to ESPN‘s report on the case.
He entered Sunday’s game managing a knee issue but started after a full week of practice, according to a Chiefs Wire report.
What Happened Between Sneed and Downs
Whether Sneed deserved the flag depends on who is describing it. Neither penalty was announced on the field as a facemask violation. Fan video circulating afterward showed Downs appearing to grab and pull at Sneed’s facemask well after the whistle. Unnecessary roughness calls on out-of-bounds hits fall under Rule 12-2-8 of the NFL rulebook, and officials have wide discretion to flag mutual extracurricular contact regardless of who threw the first shove.
On the scoreboard, the penalty changed nothing. The offsetting fouls wiped out any yardage, and Indianapolis still had to earn its touchdown from the 24, which it did. The Colts carried their three-point edge into halftime. Sneed finished the night with seven tackles, four of them solo, and a pass breakup, according to CBS Sports‘ game report.
Will L’Jarius Sneed Get NFL Punishment For Actions in Chiefs-Colts Game?