SNF’s 30-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams hit quite differently for the Denver Broncos’ offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz. In the comeback victory, he proved just why he’s the NFL’s top-rated run-blocking guard – taking on the toughest assignment of guarding Aaron Donald. But little did he know how things would turn once he woke up the next morning.

First, he woke up to a text from the league calling him for their ‘random’ PES Test. Needless to say, he didn’t believe in the coincidence and had enough fun with it. But what happened next got him thinking more about the NFL’s rules, which they seemingly walked back on.

“I got fined,’’ Meinerz told Mike Klis of 9News. “We were playing Yahtzee. They didn’t like we were playing Yahtzee.”

In a letter from the league, Meinerz was informed that he was fined $14,926 for ‘illegal celebration.’ It is likely the league also fined Jaylen Waddle the same amount. The OL will appeal the fine for reasons that make reasonable sense.

Going scoreless in the first half and trailing 0-16, the hosts’ quarterback Bo Nix threw a five-yard pass to his wide receiver Pat Bryant into the end zone for a touchdown. With the momentum in hand, the Broncos opted for a two-point attempt instead of a field goal. Despite one of the best defenses against them, Nix threw a dart of a throw to WR Jaylen Waddle deep in the end zone to close the gap to 8-16. That moment, of course, mattered. And Meinerz obviously wanted to celebrate it.

He playfully ‘waddled’ across towards the WR, and the two pretended to roll dice as part of the celebration. The league, however, saw it differently — a 180 from their previous views.

The NFL fines Meinerz for an action they had previously allowed

In 2017, the then-Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant scored his first touchdown in 651 days, celebrating it with his teammates while pretending to throw dice. Again, the NFL took notice. But the verdict was different.

“There was an internal debate this morning over whether they were referring to Yahtzee or backgammon,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said. “I don’t think we’re in a place to determine that, so I think that’s OK with us.”

In fact, it even announced it had no problem with celebratory dice rolls. But nine years later, the NFL has fined Meinerz. And that’s not the only thing they did.

Meinerz becomes NFL’s target for yet another reason

Meinerz is an anchor in the Broncos’ O-line. Over the past few seasons, he has taken more of a leadership role in the team, having been named captain for the third straight time. The OL earned his first Pro Bowl nod last year and is also playing this season after consecutive First-team All-Pro seasons. And he is not holding back on his game, as was clearly visible in how he defended against Aaron Donald, easily one of the best defensive linemen all-time.

Not many people are able to overpower Donald; offensive coordinators often have him double- or triple-teamed. But Meinerz single-handedly put the star defender on the ground. And that somehow raised the league’s metaphorical eyebrows.

The NFL reached out to Meinerz the next day and conducted a drug test. The OL didn’t mind playing around with the fact later.

“I passed it,’’ Meinerz said. “That was one of the funnier text messages I’ve got. The first thing I woke up, looked at the phone, got a text message: I’ve got to come in and get a drug test. It was funny. They say it’s random, but sometimes it doesn’t necessarily feel random.”

Yet, all the OL is happy about is being back to himself.

“It’s fun to be back to who I am, and I can breathe, I can see, I’m feeling good about life and where things are at,’’ Meinerz said. “So when I have the opportunity to use more of that energy to go celebrate with my teammates, why not? It’s hard to score, have fun with it.”

What’s interesting is that the NFL seems to be raising its surveillance around celebratory pantomimes this season.

Quinn Meinerz joins the list of stars fined by the NFL over their celebrations

While Meinerz may have been the latest one to join the party of fines, the NFL has targeted many for their celebrations.

During their Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown received a total of $59,704 ($14,926 for four times) for mimicking smoking a cigarette. St. Brown also wanted to appeal the fine.

“It’s not good, man,” St. Brown said the week after the loss. “$14-something times four. You do the math.”

He wasn’t alone.

San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk also received a total of $29,852 (two fines of $14,926) after he was pretending to chug juice, his celebratory pantomime for over a decade now, in the team’s Week 2 35-13 win over Miami. He later explained that he was chugging a glass of juice, which is also his nickname.

The Cincinnati Bengals star duo Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins also got fined a total of $89,556 for “The People’s Elbow” celebration of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which was deemed an “obscene gesture” by the league.

While Meinerz will wait to get his appeal heard, maybe the players need to study the pattern and realize that the NFL may not show leniency the next time they celebrate in what the league deems “illegal celebrations.”