The Chiefs started off on a solid note after their remarkable 31-10 win against the Broncos in Week 1. But that success couldn’t translate properly against the Colts as the Chiefs got a major penalty involving Colts QB Daniel Jones.
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“Daniel Jones takes a shot to the helmet. Chiefs get flagged for roughing the passer,” Rate the Refs posted a video on X and wrote.
The Colts opened the game with a strong 11-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 6:35. Indianapolis moved the ball steadily into Kansas City territory, with Daniel Jones connecting with Luke Treadwell for a 10-yard gain and then finding Josh Downs for 11 yards. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Kansas City’s defensive back Jaden Hicks added two more yards and moved the Colts closer to the goal line.
Two plays later, Jones found Tyler Warren for the touchdown, giving Indianapolis a 7-0 lead.
The penalty came in after Hicks had a helmet-to-helmet collision with Colts quarterback Daniel Jones. The penalty makes sense, as the roughing the passer penalty happens when a defender makes an illegal or overly forceful hit on the quarterback after the quarterback has thrown the ball, and Hicks clearly did that.
Hicks is a key defensive weapon for the Chiefs. He played all 17 games for the Chiefs in 2025 and started three of them. He finished the season with 42 total tackles, including 29 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles. He also recorded half a sack and four passes defended, but did not have an interception or forced fumble.
In the Chiefs’ Week 1 game against the Broncos in 2026, Hicks recorded four total tackles.
Kansas City had a much bigger penalty problem in 2025 than the year before. The Chiefs were called for 119 penalties, compared with 94 in 2024, averaging about seven penalties per game. That made them the seventh-most penalized team in the league, a major change from 2024, when they ranked fourth for having the fewest penalties.
After the Chiefs’ preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams on August 15, 2026, even Andy Reid said, “the No. 1 thing we need to clean up” was the penalties. They had 10 penalties against the Rams.
But the concern doesn’t just end with the penalty.
Chiefs face major trouble ahead of Colts game
Before facing the Colts, the Chiefs had to deal with some off-field discipline. Guard Trey Smith was fined $6,750 by the NFL for a play from Kansas City’s Week 1 win over Denver. The league can still hand out fines after reviewing a play, even when the action has already been dealt with during the game.
The play came with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. Kansas City had the ball at its own 34-yard line when running back Emmett Johnson took the handoff and ran left. Smith was flagged for a “chop block,” which cost the Chiefs 15 yards. The NFL later reviewed the play and added the $6,750 fine.
The money will be split between two organizations that support former athletes and football communities.
Part of the money will go to the Professional Athletes Foundation to help former players in need. The rest will go to the NFL Foundation, which supports programs focused on athletes’ health, safety, and overall well-being, including youth football and the communities around the sport.
But this wasn’t the start the Chiefs were hoping for, with players’ discipline issues troubling them on and off the field.