Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams have already been told once that their sense of humor could cost the Lions on the field. During a game against the Rams last season, the three turned a first down into a coordinated nose-picking routine, complete with an imaginary flick. It lasted one drive. Their receiver coach soon came over with a message from the officials: do it again, and the Lions could be flagged. St. Brown’s reaction was less than impressed. Why, he wondered, was picking his nose and flicking away an imaginary booger a problem?

That memory followed the trio into Buffalo, where Detroit spent Thursday night trying to claw its way out of another uncomfortable situation. The Bills had opened up a 21-0 lead, but the Lions’ offense kept finding ways to answer, with St. Brown, Gibbs and Williams all playing a role as Detroit chipped away. Then, after one of those scores in the third quarter, the three revived the same kind of coordinated mischief, only this time, the gesture was one the NFL would not leave at a warning.

As per the latest Regular Season Week 2 Accountability list, the league has now handed out 10 fines to six Lions players for their actions in Week 2, with St. Brown accounting for four of them. Each of his fines came under unsportsmanlike conduct for an “illegal celebration and vulgar act,” leaving the wide receiver with $59,704 in penalties and another appeal to make. And Detroit’s fine sheet was only one part of a much larger Week 2 crackdown on celebrations across the league.

One of the celebrations for which St. Brown was penalized came 9:31 into the third quarter, when he caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to cut Buffalo’s lead to 27-17. With 9:29 left on the clock, the Lions receiver put his fingers to his lips and appeared to mimic smoking.

Upon catching a two-yard pass from Lions quarterback Jared Goff, St. Brown acted like he was smoking before passing the imaginary cigarette to Jahmyr Gibbs. The running back also pretended to take a drag before passing it to wide receiver Jameson Williams. The broadcast caught Gibbs and Williams joining St. Brown in the celebration, while Penei Sewell was also fined for an illegal celebration/vulgar act even though his involvement was not clearly shown on the broadcast. All four were assessed $14,926 fines for the infraction.

Amon-Ra St. Brown was fined the same $14,926 penalty three more times for making the smoking gesture three other times in the game, while Williams was fined an additional $11,941 for taunting Bills defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson during an interaction between the two. That means St. Brown’s four fines were separate violations, rather than one $59,704 punishment for a single celebration. Williams, meanwhile, finished with $26,867 in fines between the celebration and taunting violations.

When asked about whether he had been contacted by the league, the wide receiver revealed that he didn’t intend to take the huge financial hit sitting down.

“It’s not good, man. 14 something times four, you do the math,” St. Brown said on Thursday, per Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News. “But I’m going to appeal it.”

Detroit Lions linebacker Devin White and defensive lineman Tyler Lacy also appeared on the Week 2 accountability list, although for facemask-related infractions. White received a $7,222 penalty, while Lacy was fined $7,315, both included under the “Unnecessary Roughness” category. Unlike the four players tied to the celebration fine, White and Lacy’s penalties had nothing to do with the post-touchdown gestures.

Overall, the league charged the six Detroit Lions players a total of about $130,960 due to infractions made in Week 2. That was the largest number of players fined on any one team in Week 2, according to some reports, with Detroit accounting for 10 of the 38 plays across the league that drew a fine.

Week 2 Became a Costly Lesson in the NFL’s Celebration Crackdown

The numbers show just how sharply the league leaned into its sportsmanship rules. The NFL said 38 plays drew fines in Week 2, up from 20 in Week 1. Of the 22 unsportsmanlike-conduct fines, 13 were for “illegal celebrations and vulgar acts,” five for obscene gestures and four for taunting, totaling $300,089.

That enforcement was not entirely unexpected. The NFL had already made sportsmanship-related rules a point of emphasis for the 2026 season at the behest of its Competition Committee, specifically calling for strict enforcement of taunting, illegal celebrations and fighting.

But the scale of the fines caught the NFL Players Association’s attention. In a statement, an NFLPA spokesperson said that neither the players nor the union had been given notice that some of the celebrations would constitute fines, adding that players had performed some of the same celebrations for years without them becoming an issue. The union said it was working with the league on how to resolve the fines and ensure players receive proper notice going forward.

St. Brown was therefore not the only player challenging how the league interpreted a celebration. San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was fined $14,926 for mimicking a drink-chugging motion, despite explaining that the gesture represented “juice,” a reference to his nickname. Juszczyk has used the celebration previously during his career and told ESPN, “I don’t even drink beer.”

Juszczyk was eventually fined twice for the gesture in the Dolphins game, while Cincinnati Bengals receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase were also among the players hit multiple times for celebrations. Across the league, St. Brown and Higgins each received four fines, while Chase, Williams and Juszczyk received two apiece.

For St. Brown, however, the Week 2 bill remains a particularly steep one: $59,704 for four celebrations, with the Lions receiver now preparing to appeal each of the fines.