Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon is calling out the NFL after a missed penalty call on Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards for a hip-drop tackle during their Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 2.
“The NFL and NFLPA made it a rule and an emphasis for a reason,” Mixon, who was injured on the play, wrote on X after September 15’s game. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”
Edwards brought down Mixon in illegal fashion at the end of a 9-yard reception early in the third quarter of the Texans’ 19-13 win over the Bears. On the play, Edwards grabbed Mixon around the waist from behind him, then unweighted himself and swung his legs to bring him to the ground — which, by definition, is against the NFL’s new 2024 rule.
Even still, Edwards did not draw a 15-yard penalty from the referees on the play. A flag for a hip-drop tackle would have also resulted in an automatic first down for Houston.
Mixon’s ankle injury is the exact thing the NFL had hoped to avoid by banning the hip-drop tackle from the game. The Texans initially ruled Mixon questionable to return while the training staff checked him out in the blue medical tent, but he did eventually return to the game with about a minute left in the third quarter.
Whether Mixon’s injury will affect his Week 3 status for the Texans remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, the Bears must now brace for the possibility of action from the league once it reviews Edwards’ play — which could mean a fine or, perhaps, worse.
Will NFL Punish T.J. Edwards for Joe Mixon Tackle?
Whether Edwards made an illegal tackle is hardly a question. The NFL’s rules state that a hip-drop tackle occurs when a player “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms” and then “unweights himself by swiveling or dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”
Based on the replay, Edwards committed a textbook offense — and officials missed it. Now, the question is what will the NFL do about his mistake in hindsight?
If the NFL wants to follow its original plan, Edwards should receive a first-offense fine, but it is unclear how much that would be. According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, the league can fine players $16,883 for their first offense and $22,511 for their second offense when it comes to hip-drop tackles, but they can also just warn players.
Then again, the NFL fined New York Giants linebacker Darius Muasau just $4,696 for a hip-drop tackle on Minnesota’s Jordan Addison following Week 1’s games. Like Mixon, Addison was injured on the play and did not suit up in Week 2 as a result.
The NFL could more harshly punish hip-drop tackles in Week 2 and make an example out of Edwards with a heftier fine, but it seems unlikely they would suspend him for a tackle that has been against the rules for only two weeks of the regular season.
NFL Could Also Fine Texans LB for Sideline Punch
Speaking of punishments, the NFL could also issue a fine to Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for throwing a punch at Bears running back Roschon Johnson after getting into an altercation on Chicago’s sideline following his big hit on rookie Caleb Williams.
On first-and-15 in the third quarter, Williams rolled out to the left looking for space and ended up running to the sideline near the line of scrimmage when he couldn’t find the space. As he slowed to run out of bounds, though, Al-Shaair delivered a big hit that knocked the No. 1 overall pick to the ground, instantly drawing the ire of the Bears’ sideline.
The fineable incident occurred when Al-Shaair stood up in a swarm of Bears players and threw a punch at Johnson, one that referees did not see. Al-Shaiir then turned and pushed 6-foot-6, 333-pound starting right tackle Darnell Wright, who stood his ground and followed Al-Shaiir as he backed away from the scrum. Wright and Al-Shaiir got in each other’s faces once more before officials defused the situation.
The league could fine Al-Shaiir $39,501 as a first-time offense for fighting. It could also potentially fine Chicago if its review of the incident finds that Bears players were guilty of unnecessary fighting and violence. The Kansas City Chiefs just received a $100,000 fine for a sideline fight involving Peyton Hendershot and Roquan Smith in Week 1.
