Rookie’s controversial hit adds more drama to Chiefs’ Thanksgiving meltdown
This is not the best week for the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving and may now be dealing with more fallout from the game.
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a heartbreaking Thanksgiving loss in Dallas, but they also walked away from Week 13 with a growing list of problems that now stretches beyond their 6–6 record and fading playoff hopes.
What replays revealed about the Chiefs’ hit on Dak Prescott
Losing to the Cowboys was damaging enough, but the team also watched starting left tackle Josh Simmons go down with a fractured wrist, an injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the season. The team is already struggling to protect Patrick Mahomes, so the timing could not be worse.
But while Simmons’ injury delivered one major blow, another Chiefs player may be bracing for a different kind of fallout.
Late in the second quarter, with Dallas facing a second-and-7, quarterback Dak Prescott rolled to his right and sailed a pass incomplete near the sideline. The play looked harmless, until Prescott popped up furious, shouting at an official and signaling for a flag. The replay showed why.
Rookie defensive end Ashton Gillotte, Kansas City’s third-round pick in this year’s draft, arrived late and delivered a clear shot to Prescott’s upper chest well after the ball was out. The contact sent the Cowboys quarterback crashing to the turf, and even in real time, it looked like the kind of hit the NFL has been cracking down on all season.
Should this have been a flag for roughing the passer? Dak was asking for one pic.twitter.com/1SB3HPSZGO
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) November 27, 2025
Given the league’s renewed emphasis on quarterback safety, and with fines piling up across the league for late hits, Gillotte is almost certain to receive financial punishment. Under league guidelines, roughing-the-passer infractions come with a minimum fine of $17,389 for a first offense, and even more for repeat violations.
Through 12 games, the NFL has already fined a dozen players nearly $200,000 combined for hits on quarterbacks. Gillotte may be next in line.
It’s an unfortunate incident for a rookie who has otherwise been a pleasant surprise for Kansas City’s defense. Gillotte finished the Dallas game with four tackles, a run stop, and a quarterback hit, and his season totals (22 tackles, 12 pressures, nine hurries, two QB hits, 2.5 run stops, and a blocked kick) demonstrate the high-energy disruptor the Chiefs hoped he’d become.
But Kansas City may now be dealing with fines, injuries, and a playoff picture slipping further out of reach.
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