The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 5-3 with a dominant 28-7 “Monday Night Football” win over the Washington Commanders, who were led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota following the injury to star quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Late in the contest with Kansas City leading 28-7, Commanders defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton wrapped up star quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a sack. What looked to be an upcoming second-and-long for the Chiefs, though, quickly turned into another first down for Kansas City when Newton was flagged for a unnecessary roughness.
The call caught the attention of ESPN “Monday Night Football” color analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who suggested Mahomes gets favorable calls.
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“It wasn’t a lot but with that said, when it comes to quarterbacks, especially this one, they’re going to protect them,” Aikman said.
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Over the first eight weeks of the NFL season, the league has saw fit to add punishment beyond the flag on the play for five players called for a late hit.
In Week 1, both Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Connor Heyward and Tennessee Titans linebacker James Williams received fines for late hits, but it wasn’t until Week 5 that the next late hit was docked with an additional punishment when New England Patriots defensive lineman Joshua Farmer was hit with a fine.
Week 6 added two more fines, this time for Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin and Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart. While five such fines have been handed out so far this season, the NFL saw fit not to add additional punishment for Newton after his late hit on Mahomes.
When the league’s fines were announced on Saturday, Newton was not among the players fined, though two of his Commanders teammates Frankie Luvu and Quan Martin both received stiff fines.
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