The Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill earned six points but lost $13,000 for the celebration after his touchdown over Pittsburgh last week. The NFL announced the penalty on Saturday, but Hill had a cheeky answer about pulling out his checkbook.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with Hill for a 31-yard-touchdown with about 9 minutes left in the third quarter of last week’s wild-card game in Kansas City. After reeling in the score, Hill realized he was near a group of Chiefs cheerleaders. So he rushed over and borrowed a pair of pom poms to make up his own routine.
The home crowd loved it. The booth announcers tolerated it. But the NFL hated it. They hit him with a $12,875 for unsportsmanlike conduct fine even though the refs didn’t throw a penalty flag. Mahomes rushed over and pulled Hill back toward their sideline before that could happen though.
Hill wasn’t worried about the fine, joking on Twitter, “I didn’t see a no letter in my locker doesn’t count.”
Hill finished the day with five grabs for 57 yards, a touchdown, and an audition for his next career when his playing days are over.
Several Chiefs fans told him to keep up the antics on the sideline in Sunday’s game against Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Playoffs Round at 6 p.m. Some even offered to help him pay it.
“It was so worth it! Go Fund Me. I’ll donate!” one fan tweeted.
“If I could afford to, I’d pay it for you in a heartbeat! It was the greatest TD celebration I’ve ever seen, & I’ve been a Chiefs/pro football fan since I was 7 yrs. old in 1963…59 years! I’ve seen a lot of TD celebrations in my life. Your pom pom routine is #1!” another Chiefs fan tweeted.
How to Watch Sunday’s Playoff Games
Sunday’s games will set the table for what is shaping up to be one of the more interesting NFL Championship games in recent years following two major upsets.
The Bills hope to return to Kansas City and avenge last year’s AFC Championship loss that kept them out of the Super Bowl. It would have been the team’s first Big Game berth since 1994. It also pits one of the league’s most impressive offenses against one of its most stifling defenses.
Whoever wins faces off against the Cincinnati Bengals, the season’s Cinderella story. The Bengals — like their namesake — pounced on every mistake the Titans made on Saturday to secure a 19-16 win. Can they keep this up or will they turn back into a pumpkin against Buffalo or KC?
If you don’t have cable there are still several ways to watch it.
Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- Time 6:04 p.m. EST
- Channel CBS
- Livestream DirectTV, FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Paramount+, YouTube TV