{"id":45238,"date":"2025-12-15T00:15:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T00:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=45238"},"modified":"2025-12-15T00:15:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T00:15:46","slug":"chargers-db-jefferson-faces-2-punishments-after-hit-vs-chiefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=45238","title":{"rendered":"Chargers DB Jefferson Faces 2 Punishments After Hit vs. Chiefs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"has-video wp-caption \">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 780 \/ 440;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2242276313-e1761871457296.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, Tyquan Thornton.\" \/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Getty <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, Tyquan Thornton.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">NFL<\/a> is likely to levy two major punishments against <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Los Angeles Chargers\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/los-angeles-chargers\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"124194\">Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> safety <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JeffTo00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Tony Jefferson<\/a> after officials flagged and then ejected him for an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit on <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Kansas City Chiefs\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/kansas-city-chiefs\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"124200\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> wide receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/tyquan-thornton\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">Tyquan Thornton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Jefferson\u2019s hit came during the second half and led to an injury to Thornton. The wideout was able to walk off the field after the play, though he required assistance from the Chiefs\u2019 medical staff to do so. Thornton entered concussion protocol following the game.<\/p>\n<p>Officials tossed Jefferson from the contest after the play. During his exit, the Chargers defensive back made obscene gestures to the home crowd in Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p>The league won\u2019t issue any punishment(s) for Jefferson until Saturday, December 20. However, historical precedent suggests that Jefferson will face <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/nfl\/profootballtalk\/rumor-mill\/news\/tony-jefferson-ejected-from-chargers-chiefs-after-helmet-to-helmet-hit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">significant fines<\/a> for both the hit that led to ejection, as well as the manner in which he left the game following that decision from the referees.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Patrick Mahomes Leaves With Injury, as Chiefs Eliminated From Playoff Contention<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5644696\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 792px;\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 782 \/ 441;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MixCollage-08-Dec-2025-01-17-AM-2712-e1765178452148.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5644696\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5644696\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>Quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Even more serious news coming out of Kansas City on Sunday involved quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/patrick-mahomes\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">Patrick Mahomes<\/a>, who suffered a knee injury on the Chiefs\u2019 final drive of the game.<\/p>\n<p>Mahomes was leading the offense late in the fourth quarter when he suffered a hit and appeared to potentially pop something in his knee, according to the broadcasters calling the game.<\/p>\n<p>Trainers attended to Mahomes on the field, and while he was able to stand up and leave the field under his own power, he limped to the sidelines and into the blue tent. Mahomes did not return, leaving Kansas City with no decision except to turn to backup quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/gardner-minshew\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">Gardner Minshew<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Minshew led the Chiefs to a first down, though ended the game with an interception in his first action of the 2025 season. That turnover also represented the end of Kansas City\u2019s playoff hopes, as the Chiefs fell to the Chargers by three points.<\/p>\n<p>At 6-8, the team is now mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Chiefs May Roll With Gardner Minshew for Remainder of Season, Depending on Patrick Mahomes\u2019 Injury<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5396166\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 748px;\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 738 \/ 531;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=738\" alt=\"Gardner Minshew\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5396166\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg 2278w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=150,108 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=300,216 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=768,553 768w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=1024,737 1024w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=1536,1105 1536w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=2048,1474 2048w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=738,531 738w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=780,561 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=425,306 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=235,169 235w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=250,180 250w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2217709599.jpg?resize=208,150 208w\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5396166\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>Kansas City Chiefs backup quarterback Gardner Minshew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Week 15 loss could also mean the end of Mahomes\u2019 year, depending on the severity of his injury.<\/p>\n<p>If the quarterback suffered any issue of considerable note, it would not make much sense for Kansas City to play him again over the final three weeks of the season, as the Chiefs should be turning their attention toward next year and keeping their best players as healthy as possible.<\/p>\n<p>In that scenario, Minshew would finish the year as quarterback, barring any injury of his own. That could also be advantageous for Kansas City, as a couple more losses down the stretch would put the team in better position for the coming <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">NFL<\/a> draft.<\/p>\n<p>Kansas City\u2019s exit from playoff contention this year represents the end of a run that included seven straight appearances in the AFC title game, three straight appearances in the Super Bowl (five overall) and three championship rings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, Tyquan Thornton. The NFL is likely to levy two major punishments against Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson after officials flagged and then ejected &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45240,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45238\/revisions\/45240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}