The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t been used to seeing their team struggle, but at 2-3 this season, things aren’t clicking the way fans expect, even with Patrick Mahomes looking close to his vintage self. Kansas City nearly pulled off a win in Week 5, but Trevor Lawrence’s late-game heroics sealed their third loss of the year.
While the Chiefs’ receiving corps has shown flashes in Rashee Rice’s absence, they’ve also been hurting the team with mistakes, and now, Hollywood Brown has added to the list after being hit with a fine from the NFL.
NFL Punishes Hollywood Brown With a Fine After Chiefs-Jaguars Game
After starting just one game in 2024, Brown has been healthy this season and has appeared in all five games. He has hauled in 26 receptions for 257 yards and a touchdown, ranking 35th in PFSN’s WR Impact metric while emerging as a steady target for Mahomes.
Brown continued his solid stretch in Week 5 against the Jaguars, recording four catches for 48 yards. Still, his production wasn’t enough to prevent a late-game collapse as Lawrence led the Jaguars to a comeback win over Kansas City.
Brown’s strong outing, however, came with a blemish. The NFL announced a $12,172 fine for the Chiefs receiver after he was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Monday night.
With 6:47 left in the first quarter, Brown got into a scuffle with Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis and struck him in the helmet following a short run by Kareem Hunt. The penalty cost Kansas City 15 yards, pushing them out of the red zone.
The NFL fined #Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown $12,172 for smacking #Jaguars CB Jourdan Lewis on Monday night.
Only Brown was penalized, or fined. pic.twitter.com/1oe0uyNkoE
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 11, 2025
The penalty, however, didn’t have a big impact on the Chiefs, as they quickly bounced back on the same drive, thanks to Tyquan Thornton’s 32-yard reception, and went on to score the game’s first touchdown.
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That sequence likely prevented the penalty from becoming a turning point, though it did earn Brown a fine for “striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.” A repeat offense would result in a steeper $17,968 fine.
While Lewis wasn’t penalized, four other players, including Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs, Lions tight end Brock Wright, Colts linebacker Joe Bachie, and Chargers defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia, received the same penalty in Week 5.
In total, the NFL handed out 13 fines across 2,264 plays last week, a rate of roughly 0.57% of all snaps. Brown also joins JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was fined $7,903 the previous week for a low block, as the latest Chiefs receiver to draw the league’s attention.
